Six Great Ideas

by Mortimer J. Adler

Discusses complex philosophical problems in concrete language to better understand the eternal concepts that shaped Western culture

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Cultural, Self Help, History, Social Science

243 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Numerous 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...

Reviews

[Josh Kienzle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book, boiling the varied concepts of life into six main ideas. It is a tough book to read sometime, definitely not a bedside or toilet book. This book requires focus and attention to detail. But when you're done, you'll love it and be glad you read it.

[Nuruddin Azri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the quotations that I love in this book are beauty is the intersection between truth (knowledge) and goodness (desire).

Happiness on the other side, is not merely the highest good (summum bonum), but it is the totality of good (totum bonum).

Lastly, there is no harm if we didn't inflict it (when he discusses on Plato's dialogues).

Freedom according to Adler, is divided into three forms:

1. Inherent in human nature.
2. Associated with wisdom and moral virtue.
3. Completely dependent on favourable external circumstances.

And of course he discusses a lot on this topic, touching the discourse of Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Kant, Marx and William James.

All in all, this is an interesting and enjoyable work to read on though one might find it is not easy to chew some intricate discussions in it.

[Reuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mortimer J. Adler, the author,was chairman of the editorial board of Encyclopedia Britannica and an editor of the Great Books of Western Civilization for about thirty years. He also wrote the two volume synopticon for the Great Books series, which summarizes the Western thinking of the past 2500 years about 102 "great ideas" of Western Civilization. In Six Great Ideas, he argues for his interpretation of six ideas: truth, goodness, beauty, liberty, equality, and justice. I didn't agree with him about everything, and the book seems written sort of for an undergraduate Western classical philosophy intro course, but he is a clear writer, and his ideas were logically presented. All in all, it's a good summary of traditional Western philosophical thought, coherently presented, and quite useful as background for reading Western literature--at least through WWII.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

The six great ideas are truth, goodness, beauty, liberty, equality, and justice. What exactly do these words mean, and how do the concepts relate to one another?

We were made to read this is high school but only talked about for about 5 minutes. I think the teacher realized pretty quickly that most of the students didn't understand it at all. In fact, I think I was one of the only people who read past the first couple pages. It would probably work better read gradually rather than crammed into one evening's homework schedule.

[Ed Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, I quit reading this to get it off my active list. I skimmed the last two ideas. The concept is wonderful. Those ideas are:
Truth
Goodness
Beauty
Liberty
Equality
Justice
This boils down everything of Western philosophy. Adler was a great 20th century thinker. All that said, you can only expound on the six concepts for so long. Then it gets as dry as old shredded wheat. Six 2000 word essays would have done them justice. But that doesn't sell books, does it!
I plan to skim Adler's "Ten Philosophical Mistakes."

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be read along his other book "Ten Philosophical Mistakes". An introduction to the great ideas: Truth, Goodness, Beauty, Liberty, Equality, Justice. Also a great gift for any student about to enter college.
Mortimer J. Adler was an American philosopher, former editor of Encyclopædia Britannica, The Great Books of the Western World, and founder of the Institute for Philosophical Research at the University of Chicago.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to get through this book. I've never studied philosophy in a school setting before (this book was assigned as part of my Ethical and Humane Decision-Making class). Adler does a good job of making it approachable but I was left with a sense that I was only being told about the dust jacket of a great book without ever diving into the story. The book came alive in conversations with classmates.

[Patrick\ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly six great ideas. Adler is humane and democratic in his soul - also a brilliant observer and synthesizer. This is a fairly easy read, the concepts easy to grasp. They are eseential ones to planet earth's (and America's)survival(my opinion) and I believe this should be a classroom standard. But, no, we are blind and rancorous when it comes to this sort of book.

[Amin Dashti · Rating 3 out of 5]

شش ایده بنیادی صدق، خوبی، زیبایی، آزادی، برابری و عدالت در این کتاب بررسی شدن والبته درنهایت نظر خاص نویسنده در مورد هر یک از شش ایده ارائه شده

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should probably just admit to myself that I not going to finish the book. I have too many books I want to be reading! I enjoyed what I did read, but the writing is so philosophical and college-y that I couldn't just pick it up and start reading easily when I had a minute or two. And it's not quite the page-turner style of book that I can read in bed into the wee hours (not that I expected it to be, of course). But I do think I got a good feel for the 6 great ideas, which are great. I liked the discussion, I just don't have the constitution to keep reading it right now. Who knows, maybe I'll pick it up again in a month or two.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. I LOVED the idea of it. The execution of the book just fell flat for me. The book sadly, did just not capture me. It was too wordy when I needed concise. It felt like listening to someone who just loves to hear themselves talk.

I maxed out my renews and never made it half way through. Maybe another time?

Update:
From reviewer Kristen: Adler makes some good points but they are sometimes lost in a sea of pretentiousness and self indulgence.

That sums it up perfectly for me! I think the points were better than good, but his tone just irked me and became tiresome.

[John Guenther · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to 6 great ideas that are central to pretty much everything related to human thought. Adler certainly presents the ideas from his perspective but I felt the arguments were logical and sound. This book is a good starting point for further study of truth, goodness, beauty, liberty, equality and justice. After reading, you can begin further study to build and refine your own understanding of these critical ideas.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

It felt like reading a textbook, you wanted to finish. I think it's a book everyone should read at least the chapters about truth, goodness and beauty; fundamentals we don't think about often enough.

The 6 ideas are: truth, goodness and beauty; ideas we judge by; justice, liberty and equality; ideas we live by.

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the budding philosopher in your family this book hits the spot. Adler turned a huge corner in his writing style with this book, and re-launched his career becoming (nearly) a household name-as well as the highest paid philosopher in the U.S.

[Richs101 · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can not speed read this book.

Best definition of truth I've ever read.

The last chapter is asking a question every human being should answer.

You may have to re-read this book several times to understand all the concepts.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful outline of the ideas that guide all human life and society, in all places and at all times!

Fascinating and lucid explanation of ideas we judge by and ideas we live by. I have read it 3 times and I want to study it carefully again this year, 2019.

[m · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible book, notable for having nearly killed my interest in Great Ideas.

[Pappy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the precursor to this, "The Great Ideas" by Mortimer Adler. It's good. Thoughtprovoking.

[Arline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philosophy. One could discuss this book for the rest of their lives...

[Craig Bolton]

Six Great Ideas by Mortimer J. Adler (1997)

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the first true philosophy book I ever read. Opened my mind to a world of ideas.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Adler makes some good points, but they are sometimes lost in a sea of pretensiousness and self-indulgence.

[Susan Clark-cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave you a lot to think about, and come back to. Really did have great ideas, and it makes you wonder why they aren't put into more use.

[Jessica]

it all seemed kind of like common sense, but good lessons none the less :)

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author discusses six great ideas, and in the process, gives the reader an enjoyable introduction to Philosophy. A worthwhile read!

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very tough read but terribly insightful.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

my parents gave me this book and I haven't done much except browse through it.

[Jeremy]

PDF here.

The six great ideas are truth, goodness, beauty, liberty, quality, and justice.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADLER ANALYZES SIX OF THE 102 “GREAT IDEAS” HE HAS HELPED IDENTIFY

Mortimer Jerome Adler (1902-2001) was an American philosopher, educator, and popular author, who worked at various times for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica, and his own Institute for Philosophical Research.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1981 book, “Working for the Encyclopedia Britannica company and … editing and publishing ‘Great Books of the Western World,’ I produced two volumes on the great ideas, entitled the ‘Syntopicon.’ These were intended to guide readers to the important passages in which the discussion of the great ideas can be found in the great books. In the course of that work I wrote essays on each of the 102 great ideas, which comprise the chapters of the Syntopicon…”

He begins the first chapter, “It cannot be too often repeated that philosophy is everybody’s business. To be a human being is to be endowed with the proclivity to philosophize… It is also necessary to understand why this is so and what philosophy’s business is. The answer, in a word, is ideas. In two words, it is great ideas---the ideas basic and indispensable to understanding ourselves, our society, and the world in which we live… But everyone … [has not] pondered sufficiently the questions raised by each of the great ideas. To do that and to think one’s way through to some resolution of the conflicting answers to these questions is to philosophize. This book aims to do no more than to provide some guidance in this process… for six of them… of obvious importance to all of us: truth, goodness, and beauty on the one hand; liberty, equality, and justice on the other.” (Pg. 3-4) Later, he notes that these particular ideas (except for beauty) are found in the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address.” (Pg. 20-21)

He observes, “Ideas, as objects of thought, do exist. The idea of truth or of justice does not cease to exist when I cease to think about it, for others can be thinking about it when I am not. However… objects of thought do cease to exist as intelligible objects when no one at all is thinking about them. There would be stars and atoms in the physical cosmos when no human beings or other living organisms to perceive them. But there would be no ideas as objects of thought without minds to think about them. Ideas exist objectively, but not with the reality that belongs to physical things.” (Pg. 12)

He notes, “The commonsense view is the one that all of us embrace when we reject the self-contradictory and self-refuting position of the extreme skeptic as being not only unreasonable, but also impracticable. There is hardly an aspect of our daily lives that would be the same if we were to embrace instead of rejecting the position of the extreme skeptic. We are firmly committed to the view that truth and falsity are ascertainable by us and that, with varying degrees of assurance, we can somehow discriminate between what is true and what is false. Almost everything we do or rely upon is grounded in that commitment.” (Pg. 35)

He acknowledges, “subjectivism and relativism … are much more prevalent in regard to goodness and beauty than they are with regard to truth. One reason for this may be that it is easier to correct the errors involved in the case of truth… We will find that more difficult to do when we come to the discussion of goodness and beauty… with regard to goodness and beauty as well as with regard to truth, it is necessary to distinguish between the objective and subjective aspects in order to prevent the relapse into extreme skepticism... if truth were entirely subjective we would have no basis for trying to resolve by rational means our differences of opinion about what is true…” (Pg. 44)

He suggests, “Self-evident truths are not tautologies… such as the statement ‘All triangles have three sides.’ … Sometimes, the self-evidence of the truth derives from our understanding of definitions. Sometimes, it derives from our understanding of terms that are not only undefined but are also indefinable, such as ‘part’ and ‘whole.’ Since we cannot understand what a part is without reference to a whole… we cannot define parts and wholes… How about the prime example of self-evident truth proposed in the Declaration of Independence?... Clearly, it is not self-evident … is the word ‘created’ is understood to mean CREATED BY GOD, for the existence of God and God’s act of creation… can be challenged.” (Pg. 52-53)

He explains, “In matters of truth, objective considerations play the major role… in the sphere of taste---temperamental inclinations, emotional predilections, cultural attachments predominate… because differences in matters of taste do not yield to reason, to argument, to the weight of the evidence… One further polarity characterizes the two spheres. The sphere of truth is transcultural… In the sphere of taste, mankind is divided into a multitude of factions and is always likely to remain so.” (Pg. 60-61)

He states, “I hope I shall be able to persuade readers that the mistakes of subjectivism and relativism can also be corrected with regard to goodness. The importance of doing so should be obvious. If all our judgments about good and evil, right and wrong… are purely subjective… there is no point in resorting to rational argument when we find ourselves in conflict with others about such matters.” (Pg. 65)

He then (borrowing from Plato’s ‘Euthyphro’) argues, “we can ask the following critical question: Do we regard something as good simply because we in fact desire it, or ought we to desire something because it is in fact good?... in one case the goodness is attributed to the object only because it is desired, while in the other the object ought to be desired only because it is good… Against the skeptic, are we able to defend the … view that, while some objects appear good to an individual simply because he or she in fact desires them, there are other objects that he or she ought to desire because they are … really good, not just apparently good?... To refute the skeptical view… we must be able to show how prescriptive statements can be objectively true.” (Pg. 69, 71)

He says, “If… we put aside our basic distinction between real and apparent goods, there will be as many different conceptions of happiness as there are differences with respect to the apparent goods that individuals want… The miser who wants only money… should accordingly count himself happy when he gets what he wants… [But] Once we come back to the distinction between real and apparent goods… Far from achieving happiness, the miser, the playboy, and the power-hungry individual have achieved only a counterfeit of it. They have got what they wanted, but not what they ought to want.” (Pg. 93)

He asserts, “The judgment about the beauty of an object … is the judgment of an expert, with special knowledge and skill in judging specimens of a certain kind… This is not to say that the experts cannot disagree. They often do… But there is a difference between the disagreement of the experts with one another and the disagreement between the laymen and the experts… The layman cannot argue with the judges in a way that might persuade them to change their minds. If he could, he would be an expert himself, not a layman.” (Pg. 115)

He contends, “The truth of the proposition that all human beings are by nature equal is confined to the one respect in which that equality can be truly affirmed; namely, their all being equally human… There is no other respect in which ALL human beings are equal… The contrary is true… though all human beings have the same generic and specifically distinctive properties and powers, some will have them to a higher, some to a lower, degree than others.” (Pg. 166-167)
Of economics, he comments, “The middle position between … erroneous extremes… calls for a moderate, not an extreme, form of circumstantial equality. With regard to the possession of political or economic goods… it calls for no more than everyone is entitled to by natural right… A moderate or justly limited equality of conditions is an equality in kind… Justice requires only that all shall be haves. It does not require that all shall be haves IN THE SAME DEGREE.” (Pg. 170-171)

He outlines, “The natural moral law puts us under three obligations. Its first precept commands us to … seek everything that is really good for us… The second precept … means acting justly toward others… The third precept commands us to act for the common good or general welfare of the community of which we are members.” (Pg. 192-193)

He summarizes, “a sound and adequate theory of equality is one that includes all the dimensions of equality---personal and circumstantial equality and inequality, equality and inequality in kind as well as equality and inequality in degree… To insist that equality of opportunity is the only circumstantial equality to which individuals are entitled is to deny that all persons are entitled by right to an equality of conditions that makes them all equal in kind as political and economic haves.” (Pg. 236)

This book will be of keen interest to students of philosophy.