Quote by: Jostein Gaarder

So now you must choose... Are you a child who has not yet become world-weary? Or are you a philosopher who will vow never to become so? To children, the world and everything in it is new, something that gives rise to astonishment. It is not like that for adults. Most adults accept the world as a matter of course. This is precisely where philosophers are a notable exception. A philosopher never gets quite used to the world. To him or her, the world continues to seem a bit unreasonable - bewildering, even enigmatic. Philosophers and small children thus have an important faculty in common. The only thing we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder…


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Author Bio


  • NameJostein Gaarder
  • DescriptionNorwegian author
  • BornAugust 8, 1952
  • CountryNorway
  • ProfessionWriter; Teacher; Novelist; Philosopher; Children's Writer
  • WorksThe Solitaire Mystery; Sophie's World
  • AwardsCommander Of The Order Of St. Olav?; Norwegian Booksellers' Prize; Peer Gynt Literary Award; ; Order Of St. Olav