How to Think About War and Peace [Paperback]

Mortimer J. Adler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0823216438 | ISBN-13: 978-0823216437 | Edition: 2

Mortimer Adler writes in his introduction: In thinking about war and peace, as in thinking about other basic practical problems, the man who brings general ideas and principles to bear upon particular problems and formulations has a unique advantage. He can make effective contact with the concrete and the immediate without losing a dispassionate vision of the universal and the timeless. He can exercise that critical detachment necessary for a thoughtful, rather than an emotional, judgement upon the conflicting policies which solicit his adherance.How to think About War and Peace discusses immediate issues in terms of eternal principles, viewing present problems in the large perspectives that history and philosophy can provide. This book engages in a timeless project not contingenton current events, but cumulated from a continuing history of the battle between war and peace. Written in the midst of the Second World War, Adler's purpose was not to proffer how to make peace after the end of the war, but rather to instruct how to think about peace and war and how to continue this process to maintain peace, or, how to effect its establishment.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mortimer J. Adler was the director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in Chicago and a member of the board of editors of the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Product Details

• Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: Fordham University Press; 2 edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823216438
• ISBN-13: 978-0823216437
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mortimer Jerome Adler (December 28, 1902 - June 28, 2001) was an American philosopher, educator, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. He lived for the longest stretches in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Mateo. He worked for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica, and Adler's own Institute for Philosophical Research. Adler was married twice and had four children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expains why war is unavoidable in the world as we know it, August 16, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Think About War and Peace (Paperback)

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Adler lays
bare the underlying political structures that *guarantee*
continued warfare between nations. His clear prose and
logical, patient approach guides the reader carefully
through the underlying assumtions of national sovereignty
which serve as the flywheel for war. He provides a
series of definitions for war and peace that provide a
necessary foundation for understanding. He asseses both the
possibility and probability that the human race will ever
know international peace and provides useful recommendations
for anyone who wants to work meaningfully on a world
without war.