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Great Ideas from the Great Books
Book by Adler, Mortimer J.
294 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
3 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Mortimer J. Adler
595 books1,054 followersNumerous published works of American educator and philosopher Mortimer Jerome Adler include
How to Read a Book
(1940) and
The Conditions of Philosophy
(1965).
This popular author worked with thought of Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas. He lived for the longest stretches in cities of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Mateo. He worked for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica, and own institute for philosophical research.
Born to Jewish immigrants, he dropped out school at 14 years of age in 1917 to a copy boy for the New York Sun with the ultimate aspiration to a journalist. Adler quickly returned to school to take writing classes at night and discovered the works of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and other men, whom he came to call heroes. He went to study at Columbia University and contributed to the student literary magazine, The Morningside, (a poem "Choice" in 1922 when Charles A. Wagner was editor-in-chief and Whittaker Chambers an associate editor). Though he failed to pass the required swimming test for a bachelor's degree (a matter that was rectified when Columbia gave him an honorary degree in 1983), he stayed at the university and eventually received an instructorship and finally a doctorate in psychology. While at Columbia University, Adler wrote his first book: Dialectic, published in 1927.
In 1930 Robert Hutchins, the newly appointed president of the University of Chicago, whom Adler had befriended some years earlier, arranged for Chicago’s law school to hire him as a professor of the philosophy of law; the philosophers at Chicago (who included James H. Tufts, E.A. Burtt, and George H. Mead) had "entertained grave doubts as to Mr. Adler's competence in the field [of philosophy]" and resisted Adler's appointment to the University's Department of Philosophy. Adler was the first "non-lawyer" to join the law school faculty. Adler also taught philosophy to business executives at the Aspen Institute.
Adler and Hutchins went on to found the Great Books of the Western World program and the Great Books Foundation. Adler founded and served as director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in 1952. He also served on the Board of Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica since its inception in 1949, and succeeded Hutchins as its chairman from 1974. As the director of editorial planning for the fifteenth edition of Britannica from 1965, he was instrumental in the major reorganization of knowledge embodied in that edition. He introduced the Paideia Proposal which resulted in his founding the Paideia Program, a grade-school curriculum centered around guided reading and discussion of difficult works (as judged for each grade). With Max Weismann, he founded The Center for the Study of The Great Ideas.
Adler long strove to bring philosophy to the masses, and some of his works (such as How to Read a Book) became popular bestsellers. He was also an advocate of economic democracy and wrote an influential preface to Louis Kelso's The Capitalist Manifesto. Adler was often aided in his thinking and writing by Arthur Rubin, an old friend from his Columbia undergraduate days. In his own words:
Unlike many of my contemporaries, I never write books for my fellow professors to read. I have no interest in the academic audience at all. I'm interested in Joe Doakes. A general audience can read any book I write—and they do.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer...
This popular author worked with thought of Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas. He lived for the longest stretches in cities of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Mateo. He worked for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica, and own institute for philosophical research.
Born to Jewish immigrants, he dropped out school at 14 years of age in 1917 to a copy boy for the New York Sun with the ultimate aspiration to a journalist. Adler quickly returned to school to take writing classes at night and discovered the works of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and other men, whom he came to call heroes. He went to study at Columbia University and contributed to the student literary magazine, The Morningside, (a poem "Choice" in 1922 when Charles A. Wagner was editor-in-chief and Whittaker Chambers an associate editor). Though he failed to pass the required swimming test for a bachelor's degree (a matter that was rectified when Columbia gave him an honorary degree in 1983), he stayed at the university and eventually received an instructorship and finally a doctorate in psychology. While at Columbia University, Adler wrote his first book: Dialectic, published in 1927.
In 1930 Robert Hutchins, the newly appointed president of the University of Chicago, whom Adler had befriended some years earlier, arranged for Chicago’s law school to hire him as a professor of the philosophy of law; the philosophers at Chicago (who included James H. Tufts, E.A. Burtt, and George H. Mead) had "entertained grave doubts as to Mr. Adler's competence in the field [of philosophy]" and resisted Adler's appointment to the University's Department of Philosophy. Adler was the first "non-lawyer" to join the law school faculty. Adler also taught philosophy to business executives at the Aspen Institute.
Adler and Hutchins went on to found the Great Books of the Western World program and the Great Books Foundation. Adler founded and served as director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in 1952. He also served on the Board of Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica since its inception in 1949, and succeeded Hutchins as its chairman from 1974. As the director of editorial planning for the fifteenth edition of Britannica from 1965, he was instrumental in the major reorganization of knowledge embodied in that edition. He introduced the Paideia Proposal which resulted in his founding the Paideia Program, a grade-school curriculum centered around guided reading and discussion of difficult works (as judged for each grade). With Max Weismann, he founded The Center for the Study of The Great Ideas.
Adler long strove to bring philosophy to the masses, and some of his works (such as How to Read a Book) became popular bestsellers. He was also an advocate of economic democracy and wrote an influential preface to Louis Kelso's The Capitalist Manifesto. Adler was often aided in his thinking and writing by Arthur Rubin, an old friend from his Columbia undergraduate days. In his own words:
Unlike many of my contemporaries, I never write books for my fellow professors to read. I have no interest in the academic audience at all. I'm interested in Joe Doakes. A general audience can read any book I write—and they do.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 1, 2019
An excellent author is the one who bridges us towards the heritage of a particular civilisation. This is what happen when I keep reading Mortimer Adler.
Around six years ago, a lot of people mentioning his most well-known book, How to Read a Book including one of my teacher in Egypt and by a lovely dissection by respected scholar, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. That book ignites my inquiry to read his other book, Four Dimensions of Philosophy, Reforming Education, How to Speak, How to Listen, The Great Conversation and this book, Great Ideas from the Great Books.
I spend my two final years in Cairo looking for one of his large 54 volumes magnum opus with Robert Hutchins, The Great Books of the Western World and he indeed helps me in building a good framework to understand the Western Philosophy and Civilisation.
This book might be the pinnacle of my journey in reading his works.
Based on my brief exploration of his essays online, I think some or most of the essays here are available there but this book presents it in a neat and proper order. Those who read this book will earn a good framework of Western Heritage as Adler tackles the central ideas from the great thinkers of all ages in a wonderful and stylish way from philosophy, religion, science, theology, metaphysics, social problems, arts, economy, state, liberal education, man and love. This method is also tried by Palestinian scholar, Ismail Raji al-Faruqi in his book, Al-Tawhid: Its Thought and Implications.
I go back to Adler a lot on education especially when I give a talk few months ago in Cairo on The Art of Critical Reading to few of my fellows there. So, the best part of this book is definitely the chapter of liberal education. Nevertheless, the other chapters are on par with the discussion on liberal education too as Adler is really an encyclopaedic and expert educator. When he answers, he will answers briefly but in a concise manner and the name of giants and great books of the Western world are easily mentioned with a critical analysis on them.
In a nutshell, this is the best question and answer collections that I have ever read. At the very least, one would become familiar with the basic idea and writings of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hume, Locke, Dante, Marx, Engels, Tolstoy, Freud, Aquinas, Augustine, Jefferson, Toynbee and Montaigne after reading this book.
Around six years ago, a lot of people mentioning his most well-known book, How to Read a Book including one of my teacher in Egypt and by a lovely dissection by respected scholar, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. That book ignites my inquiry to read his other book, Four Dimensions of Philosophy, Reforming Education, How to Speak, How to Listen, The Great Conversation and this book, Great Ideas from the Great Books.
I spend my two final years in Cairo looking for one of his large 54 volumes magnum opus with Robert Hutchins, The Great Books of the Western World and he indeed helps me in building a good framework to understand the Western Philosophy and Civilisation.
This book might be the pinnacle of my journey in reading his works.
Based on my brief exploration of his essays online, I think some or most of the essays here are available there but this book presents it in a neat and proper order. Those who read this book will earn a good framework of Western Heritage as Adler tackles the central ideas from the great thinkers of all ages in a wonderful and stylish way from philosophy, religion, science, theology, metaphysics, social problems, arts, economy, state, liberal education, man and love. This method is also tried by Palestinian scholar, Ismail Raji al-Faruqi in his book, Al-Tawhid: Its Thought and Implications.
I go back to Adler a lot on education especially when I give a talk few months ago in Cairo on The Art of Critical Reading to few of my fellows there. So, the best part of this book is definitely the chapter of liberal education. Nevertheless, the other chapters are on par with the discussion on liberal education too as Adler is really an encyclopaedic and expert educator. When he answers, he will answers briefly but in a concise manner and the name of giants and great books of the Western world are easily mentioned with a critical analysis on them.
In a nutshell, this is the best question and answer collections that I have ever read. At the very least, one would become familiar with the basic idea and writings of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hume, Locke, Dante, Marx, Engels, Tolstoy, Freud, Aquinas, Augustine, Jefferson, Toynbee and Montaigne after reading this book.
February 24, 2021
nothing revolutionary
July 7, 2013
KHi dọc cuốn này mình thấy rất ngạc nhiên không hiểu tại sao Adler có thể biết nhiều đến thế, dường như câu hỏi gì, học búa đến mấy ông cũng trả lời được. Tuy nhiên ông chỉ đưa ra các tư tưởng của các nhà triết học kinh điển của thời đại, và ông không đưa ra quan điểm của ông. Dù sao đọc cuốn sách này mình biết được thêm rất nhiều thứ, và nhất là thấy được sự đa dạng của các tư tưởng qua từng thời đại
May 20, 2010
GREAT IDEAS FROM THE GREAT BOOKS by Mortimer Adler (1963)
March 27, 2019
I started this book with the intent of picking it up every so often and get a dose of Adler. That's what I did. Trouble was as I picked it up and put it down,the book got a away from me for months. I couldn't find it and I was busy. Finally it was found and I was back to picking up and putting down. In the past couple of weeks I realized I need to finish this thing! i have most of the rest of the Adler library. Best finish this and get on to the next book. So I did.
This is a wonderful collection of columns covering a slew of issues in a question and answer fashion. The book is like a Q & A version of Adler's 'Six Great Ideas'. As usual, Adler's writing is crisp and clear. The answers also balanced with various views. Amazing to realize that Adler crafted his answers into such a short column. I wonder how much work was done in editing? Must have been really tough to make the column inch each week. He surely wrote far more than seen. Hundreds of years of philosophical thought boiled into a column.
That's the other amazing thing to realize, this column would not survive in a newspaper today. Today's crowd is lacking the intellect to read writings like this weekly.
Bottom line: i strongly recommend this book. 10 out of 10 points.
This is a wonderful collection of columns covering a slew of issues in a question and answer fashion. The book is like a Q & A version of Adler's 'Six Great Ideas'. As usual, Adler's writing is crisp and clear. The answers also balanced with various views. Amazing to realize that Adler crafted his answers into such a short column. I wonder how much work was done in editing? Must have been really tough to make the column inch each week. He surely wrote far more than seen. Hundreds of years of philosophical thought boiled into a column.
That's the other amazing thing to realize, this column would not survive in a newspaper today. Today's crowd is lacking the intellect to read writings like this weekly.
Bottom line: i strongly recommend this book. 10 out of 10 points.
November 19, 2019
Thích nội dung câu hỏi hơn là những câu trả lời :))
June 16, 2021
A collection of newspaper columns, so not really a deep dive into any of the questions or concepts. It was OK for what it was, but it's really best as an introductory piece.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews