Description: English summary: Before entering a philosophy class, do I know what I will be doing there, what I will be studying there? Not really. No field of study is more mysterious. That is what inspired me to write this little book: the bewilderment of 11th-grade students wishing to get an introduction to Philosophy during their summer vacation. Although there are, indeed, many manuals and textbooks on the subject, no previously published initiation has addressed this unique and singular situation. This book tackles all the topics which 12th grade must cover according to the latest regulations - and even those which the curriculum chooses to skip: God, for example, and more to the point, "What is philosophy?" - as if this question about philosophy itself were deemed unimportant or too difficult! The author's objective was thus to fill in a gap by providing as pleasant a guide as possible to students having finished 11th grade as they prepare to start work necessitating more research and exactitude and begin studying the basic texts of the great philosophers. These thirty mini-lessons - corresponding to the thirty days of a summer month - represent, because of the circumstances surrounding their composition, the author's philosophical legacy to future young generations. The clear, refined and restrained, yet upbeat and unpretentious, language of these simple texts ensures that this modest work's initial goal has been surpassed, and that all those intrigued by the challenges of philosophic thought will fall under their spell. French description: Avant d'entrer dans une classe de philosophie, est-ce que je sais ce que je vais y faire, ce que je vais y etudier? Pas vraiment. Aucune discipline n'est aussi mysterieuse. C'est ainsi qu'est ne ce petit livre: de la perplexite d'eleves de Premiere desireux de faire connaissance avec la Philosophie durant leurs vacances d'ete. S'il existe en effet beaucoup de manuels et d'ouvrages scolaires, aucune initiation prealable ne repond a cette situation unique et singuliere. L'auteur a donc tente de combler une lacune en guidant le plus agreablement possible l'eleve qui vient de terminer sa Premiere vers des travaux plus documentes, plus precis et, bien sur, vers les textes fondamentaux des grands philosophes. Ces trente mini-lecons - correspondant aux trente jours d'un mois d'ete - constituent, du fait des circonstances de leur composition, le testament philosophique de l'auteur a l'usage des jeunes generations. La langue claire, elegante et mesuree, le ton souriant de cet ouvrage sans pesanteur le destinent a tous ceux qui s'interessent aux enjeux de la reflexion philosophique. Puissent-ils y prendre plaisir et tomber sous son charme!
Review Quotes: La reedition des Bonheurs de Sophie donne l'occasion aux lyceens auxquels elle s'adresse d'abord, mais aussi a tout novice et curieux, de s'initier pas a pas a ce monument intimidant qu'est la philosophie.