Six Great Ideas [Paperback]

Mortimer J. Adler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1997

This enlightening study is the result of group discussions at Dr. Adler's annual seminar in Aspen, Colorado, and conversations between Dr. Adler and Bill moyers filmed for public television. 6 cassettes.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mortimer J. Adler is Chairman of the Board of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Director of the Institute for Philosophical Research, and Honorary Trustee of the Aspen Institute.  He has authored fifty books.  He lives in Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; 1st Touchstone Edition 1997 edition (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068482681X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684826813
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,036 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

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as others but still a winner, October 21, 2003

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Great Ideas (Paperback)

The philosophical divide in our culture has never been so apparent as simply reading the reviews of this book. Some fault Adler for references to ethics - as if morality had no place in philosophical thought. Others fault him for using common sense (as if that were a crime) and speaking in everyday language. Others thought he was grand because he is a deist.

Adler has written other books, better books, but one thing I like about all his books is their knack for inviting cogent comment and discussion. If only for that reason, they are important works that should be at least perused. Adler has offered radical plans for education and educators - a concrete program few have tried. The heart of this program is getting children to think, challenging their common assumptions and making them think why they think the way they do.

But to Adler this does not mean imbuing them with a political revolutionary zeal for "change". It means questioning their assumptions and defining what is important. With that in mind he wrote "Six Great Ideas", some of which are interrelated. To some, these ideas are dated but what he makes clear is that all six of these are universals and, because of their relationship to people, always will be.

For a better discussion of ideas get his 101 Great Ideas.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Displays our dichotomy, October 21, 2003

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Great Ideas (Paperback)

No clearer indication of the philosophical divide in this nation can be seen than by reading the reviews in Amazon of the works of Mortimer Adler. One group of reviewers are geniunely concerned that he has a Western orientation, that he defends such ideas as democracy and capitalism, that he seems to speak for common sense, tradition and classical liberalism. There is another group that supports him wholeheartedly because of these very views and his sympathetic voice toward religion.

TEN PHILOSOPHICAL MISTAKES is an exploration of notions that he considers small mistakes that occurred in the past. The effect of these mistakes is compounded over time until they produce a difference in the way we view ourselves and our reality. He explores each of these mistakes in detail.

Guiding Adler's thinking is a reliance on the works of Aristotle and a look at both Greek and classical European methods of learning and teaching. Also important is his view of humans as rational animals who differ from other animals - not in degree but in kind.

He has made radical proposals for education and reintroducing thinking to the classroom. This is done not through a predictable "challenge to the system" but through the Socratic method. Ironically, this method was widely used in the Arab world at the height of its power before being subsumed by theocratic stipulations. This is a good book, not flawless, but one that is well worth five stars.

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great introductory philosophy book for everyone, April 6, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Great Ideas (Paperback)

This book changed my life. Many people nowadays think that philosophy is an ivory tower excercise. It is not. And it is not impractical. This book had a profound impact on my thinking. It is very reasonable philosophy that led me to hunger for the nobler things in life. I highly suggest this book, especially to those who have never learned philosophy or have only learned philosophy from rationalists on.