How to Think About the Great Ideas:
From the Great Books of Western
Civilization by Mortimer J. Adler
How To Think About The Great Ideas By Mortimer Adler
Time magazine called Mortimer J. Adler a philosopher for everyman. In
this guide to considering the big questions, Adler addresses the topics all
men and women ponder in the course of life, such as What is love?, How
do we decide the right thing to do?, and, What does it mean to be good?
Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Western literature, history, and
philosophy, the author considers what is meant by democracy, law,
emotion, language, truth, and other abstract concepts in light of more than
two millennia of Western civilization and discourse. Adlers essays offer a
remarkable and contemplative distillation of the Great Ideas of Western
Thought.
Personal Review: How to Think About the Great Ideas: From the
Great Books of Western Civilization by Mortimer J. Adler

How do you summarize a summary of 2500 years of thought? Great!
Mortimer Adler was one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th Century,
primarily because of the literally ecyclopaedic nature of his knowledge. I
say literally encyclopaedic because he edited the Encyclopaedia Britanica
and wrote The Synopticon, a summary of Western philosophy, among the
scores of other books bearing his name. He is best known for popularizing
the Great Books theory of education. This is based on his own original
reseach distilling the essence of Western Thought into 102 "Great Ideas."
How To Think About The Great Ideas is a condensation of transcipts of a
popular TV show of the 1950's, but the superficiality such an origin
suggests does not permeate the book. The TV show covered only 21 of
the great ideas, while the book deals with about half of the 102. The
somewhat colloquial style will surprise readers who may have read
Aristotle, Decartes, or Kant in full. We are not accustomed to hearing
about philosophy from TV. But the simplicity of the presentation only
serves to heighten the clarity of the ideas. The Great Ideas which you
struggled over in college really can be discussed in ordinary language, and
this is the real achievement of this book. The ideas build from the basic
question of "What is truth?" to a consideration of the nature of man, human
freedom, society and even a review of the arguments for the existence of
God. Adler himself came to faith from agnositicism in his 80's before his
recent death at the age of 98. Even so, the book is more of an invitation
than an argument. It is best approached as a string of pearls, a series of
thoughtful but isolated studies, rather than an essay in how to approach life
or a true philosophical treatise. Refer to the Synopticon the academic
treatment. But Adler never wrote just for academics. He believed
philosphy is for everyone, and this book proves it. Now that Mortimer
Adler has recently passed away, How To Think About The Great Ideas will
remain as his exortation for all of us to lead thoughful lives.
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