Jostein Gaarder - Sophie's World (1991)

43 Sourced Quotes

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According to Kierkegaard, rather than searching for the Truth with a capital T, it is more important to find the kind of truths that are meaningful to the individual's life. It is important to find the truth for me.

Jostein Gaarder
You might say that the very best that can happen is to have energetic opponents.

Jostein Gaarder
The stupidest thing she knew was for people to act like they knew all about the things they knew absolutely nothing about.

Jostein Gaarder
The soul yearns to fly home on the wings of love to the world of ideas. It longs to be freed from the chains of the body.

Jostein Gaarder
Wasn't it extraordinary to be in the world right now, wandering around in a wonderful adventure!

Jostein Gaarder
People are, generally speaking, either dead certain or totally indifferent.

Jostein Gaarder
But understanding will always require some effort. You probably wouldn't admire a friend who was good at everything if it cost her no effort.

Jostein Gaarder
Dear Hilde, if the human brain was simple enough for us to understand, we would still be so stupid that we couldn't understand it. Love, Dad.

Jostein Gaarder
Going only part of the way is not the same as going the wrong way

Jostein Gaarder
Acting responsibly is not a matter of strengthening our reason but of deepening our feelings for the welfare of others.

Jostein Gaarder
Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of them fall off, but others cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink. 'Ladies and Gentlemen,' they yell, 'we are floating in space!' But none of the people down there care

Jostein Gaarder
Superstitious." What a strange word. If you believed in Christianity or Islam, it was called "faith". But if you believed in astrology or Friday the thirteenth it was superstition! Who had the right to call other people's belief superstition?

Jostein Gaarder
The question of whether a thing is right or wrong, good or bad, must always be considered in relation to a persons needs.

Jostein Gaarder