SOPHIE’S WORLD GUIDED
BRAINSTORM
Use your own paper to take notes
You may need several pages
IN WHAT WAY IS THE NOVEL A MYSTERY?
WHAT ELEMENTS OF MYSTERY ARE IN THE
NOVEL?
Could we include the mysterious messages, the…?
 Jot down more ideas
 Share your ideas aloud

WHAT MIGHT THE AUTHOR WANT US TO
UNDERSTAND ABOUT PHILOSOPHY BY WRITING
THE NOVEL THIS WAY?

Could it be like the magic trick analogy? Could he be
making a comparison to help us understand
philosophy and philosophers?
A COMPARISON TO HELP US UNDERSTAND
PHILOSOPHY AND PHILOSOPHERS?
Existence / Life is like a
magic trick
Existence / Life is like a
mystery novel
The universe / the world is
The universe / the world is
Who / What creates / controls
Who / What creates / controls
We / People are
We / People are
Philosophers
Philosophers
WHAT ELSE DOES THE AUTHOR TRY TO
COMMUNICATE TO US ABOUT PHILOSOPHY,
PHILOSOPHERS, PHILOSOPHICAL PROJECTS,
LEARNING PHILOSOPHY –VS- LEARNING TO
THINK PHILOSOPHICALLY?
Jot down some ideas
 Share your ideas aloud

SO, HOW DOES THE BOOK, SO FAR, HELP US TO
ANSWER OUR RESEARCH QUESTION:
PHILOSOPHY - WHAT DOES IT MEAN
(DEFINITION, DIVISIONS OR BRANCHES,
PURPOSE, VALUE)?
Notice that we have already cover some of this, but
what goes where? What else should we include and
where?
 Jot down more ideas
 Share your ideas aloud

DEFINITION
Jot down your ideas
 Share your ideas aloud

DIVISIONS OR BRANCHES
Jot down your ideas
 Share your ideas aloud

PURPOSE
Jot down your ideas
 Share your ideas aloud

VALUE
Jot down your ideas
 Share your ideas aloud

“WISEST IS SHE WHO KNOWS SHE DOES NOT
KNOW” (67).
What does this mean?
 Which philosopher and philosophical movement does
this represent? How?
 What does this suggest?
 Jot down your ideas
 Share your ideas aloud

DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING QUOTE:

“Mankind is faced with a number of difficult
questions that we have to satisfactory answer to.
So now, two possibilities present themselves: we
can either fool ourselves and the rest of the world
by pretending that we know all there is to know,
or we can shut our eyes to the central issues once
and for all and abandon all progress. In this
sense, humanity is divided. People are, generally
speaking, either dead certain or totally
indifferent. (Both types are crawling deep down
in the rabbit’s fur!)” (68).