teaching philosophy through a "creative" plot - Sophie's world

Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy
by Jostein Gaarder

i enjoyed this book for several reasons. first of all, it reconnected me with what little i had learned about philosophy in my teenage years - even that little was grossly distorted and severely censored. thus, a course at the middle school level was embarassingly fitting. it was probably right timing, too, as i had been puzzling over many of the same questions from different angles and for different reasons recently. this book pointed me to a few "great minds" i would love to learn more from. finally, the thoughtfully designed layers of plot, which touched upon "creation", were somewhat awkward, but engaging enough to keep my attention from astray.

i am less impressed by the author's even-handed appreciation of max and feud (from now on, my nicknames for these two of my "least favored" folks), or by the few opinions evidently of his own; but then that's my own bias.