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Six Great Ideas
Discusses complex philosophical problems in concrete language to better understand the eternal concepts that shaped Western culture
243 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
About the author
Mortimer J. Adler
597 books1,090 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...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
April 14, 2007
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.
March 31, 2020
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.
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.
December 23, 2008
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.
August 29, 2026
Adler writes with wisdom about six great ideas. The text has very few quotations and no footnotes or endnotes. While these features are supposed to make it more accessible, the content itself is philosophical writing and not as accessible as one might think. Overall, Adler gives his own discussion and views on these ideas. However, I would prefer he either state a clear-cut definition (his own even) of the idea at the beginning or end of each of the six. This feature (and other structural adjustments) would bring more clarity to this book.
July 8, 2008
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.
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.
December 26, 2011
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."
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."
August 7, 2014
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.
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.
October 30, 2014
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.
April 21, 2008
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.
October 23, 2020
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
March 27, 2012
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.
March 27, 2012
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.
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.
January 5, 2015
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.
July 16, 2009
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.
The 6 ideas are: truth, goodness and beauty; ideas we judge by; justice, liberty and equality; ideas we live by.
April 2, 2008
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.
July 21, 2013
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.
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.
May 4, 2014
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.
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.
June 2, 2008
terrible book, notable for having nearly killed my interest in Great Ideas.
December 6, 2008
Good stuff
January 12, 2010
I read the precursor to this, "The Great Ideas" by Mortimer Adler. It's good. Thoughtprovoking.
January 17, 2010
Philosophy. One could discuss this book for the rest of their lives...
Read
September 23, 2010Six Great Ideas by Mortimer J. Adler (1997)
June 5, 2011
This is probably the first true philosophy book I ever read. Opened my mind to a world of ideas.
September 19, 2011
3.5 stars
Adler makes some good points, but they are sometimes lost in a sea of pretensiousness and self-indulgence.
Adler makes some good points, but they are sometimes lost in a sea of pretensiousness and self-indulgence.
October 2, 2011
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.
Read
August 9, 2012it all seemed kind of like common sense, but good lessons none the less :)
March 21, 2014
The author discusses six great ideas, and in the process, gives the reader an enjoyable introduction to Philosophy. A worthwhile read!
March 23, 2014
Very tough read but terribly insightful.
February 1, 2015
my parents gave me this book and I haven't done much except browse through it.
Want to Read
October 21, 2016PDF here.
The six great ideas are truth, goodness, beauty, liberty, quality, and justice.
The six great ideas are truth, goodness, beauty, liberty, quality, and justice.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews