Mortimer Eagle

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Mortimer Adler.jpg

Mortimer Jerome Adler (born December 28, 1902 in New York , † June 28, 2001 ) was an American philosopher and writer .

Life

At the age of 14, Adler, the son of a Jewish jeweler, left school to become a journalist. He found work as a printer in the New York Sun . In his spare time he attended literature and writing courses, where he got to know works by authors who would later become his role models. These include Plato , Aristotle , Thomas Aquinas , John Locke, and John Stuart Mill .

In particular, reading an autobiography by John Stuart Mill, in which Adler had learned that he had read Plato's works at the age of five, ultimately motivated him to study philosophy at Columbia University . Adler, despite his enormous interest in philosophy and his efforts in this subject, did not graduate because he refused to take the swimming test required for the bachelor's degree . Nevertheless, he was accepted into the university's graduate program and began his career as a university lecturer there. He received a formal degree in 1928 when he was awarded a doctorate in psychology.

In 1930 Adler was appointed to the University of Chicago , where he founded the Great Books of the Western World collection with its then President Robert Hutchins as chairman of the Encyclopædia Britannica . During this time, Adler also endeavored to integrate philosophy into other sciences and to enforce it as an essential component. He also endeavored to educate the wider population and to bring them closer to the philosophical tradition; His numerous works aimed at non-academics emerged from this impulse. He himself said:

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 .

Translated: "Unlike many of my contemporaries, I never write books that my fellow professors can read. I have absolutely no interest in an academic audience. I am interested in Joe Doakes . A general audience can read any book I write - and they do too. "

Another focus in Adler's work is theology and the philosophy of religion . In an interview in 1980 on the occasion of the publication of his work How to think about God , he stated that he had not converted to Christianity for moral, not intellectual reasons . The conversion nevertheless took place in 1990, to which he himself remarked: “ My chief reason for choosing Christianity was because the mysteries were incomprehensible. What's the point of revelation if we could figure it out ourselves? If it were wholly comprehensible, then it would just be another philosophy. "Translated:" My main reason for choosing Christianity was that the mysteries were incomprehensible. What is the point of revelation if we can find out for ourselves? If it were entirely understandable, then it would just be a different philosophy . "

When asked which book he would take to a deserted island, Adler gave a list instead:

  1. Thucydides , The Peloponnesian War
  2. Plato , 5 or 6 dialogues
  3. Aristotle , Nicomachean Ethics and Politics
  4. Augustine of Hippo , Confessiones
  5. Plutarch , double biographies ( Bíoi parálleloi )
  6. Dante Alighieri , The Divine Comedy
  7. William Shakespeare , a selection of plays
  8. Michel de Montaigne , Essais
  9. Jonathan Swift , Gulliver's Travels
  10. John Locke , Two Treatises on Government
  11. Leo Tolstoy , War and Peace

Critics of Adler saw him as a Eurocentric and dogmatist . He himself openly admitted to being a world federalist .

Works

  • Dialectic (1927)
  • The Nature of Judicial Proof: An Inquiry into the Logical, Legal, and Empirical Aspects of the Law of Evidence (1931, with Jerome Michael)
  • Diagramatics (1932, with Maude Hutchins )
  • Crime, Law and Social Science (1933, with Jerome Michael)
  • Art and Prudence: A Study in Practical Philosophy . 1937.
  • What Man Has Made of Man: A Study of the Consequences of Platonism and Positivism in Psychology (1937)
  • The Philosophy and Science of Man: A Collection of Texts as a Foundation for Ethics and Politics (1940)
  • How to Read a Book : The Art of Getting a Liberal Education (1940)
  • A Dialectic of Morals: Towards the Foundations of Political Philosophy (1941)
  • How to Think About War and Peace (1944)
  • The Revolution in Education (1944, with Milton Mayer)
  • The Capitalist Manifesto , with Louis O. Kelso . 1958. ISBN 0-8371-8210-7
  • The Idea of ​​Freedom: A Dialectical Examination of the Conceptions of Freedom (1958)
  • The New Capitalists: A Proposal to Free Economic Growth from the Slavery of Savings , with Louis O. Kelso. 1961.
  • The Idea of ​​Freedom: A Dialectical Examination of the Controversies about Freedom (1961)
  • Great Ideas from the Great Books (1961)
  • The Conditions of Philosophy: Its Checkered Past, Its Present Disorder, and Its Future Promise . 1965.
  • How to Read a Book: A Guide to Reading the Great Books (1966)
  • The Difference of Man and the Difference It Makes (1967)
  • The Time of Our Lives: The Ethics of Common Sense (1970)
  • The Common Sense of Politics (1971)
  • How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading (1972, with Charles Van Doren ) - How to Read a Book
  • The American Testament (1975, with William Gorman)
  • Some Questions About Language: A Theory of Human Discourse and Its Objects (1976)
  • Philosopher at Large: An Intellectual Autobiography (1977)
  • Reforming Education: The Schooling of a People and Their Education Beyond Schooling (1977, edited by Geraldine Van Doren)
  • Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy (1978)
  • How to Think About God: A Guide for the 20th-Century Pagan (1980)
  • Six Great Ideas: Truth-Goodness-Beauty-Liberty-Equality-Justice . 1981. ISBN 0-02-072020-3
  • The Angels and Us (1982)
  • The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto (1982)
  • How to Speak / How to Listen (1983)
  • Paideia Problems and Possibilities: A Consideration of Questions Raised by The Paideia Proposal (1983)
  • A Vision of the Future: Twelve Ideas for a Better Life and a Better Society . 1984. ISBN 0-02-500280-5
  • The Paideia Program: An Educational Syllabus . (1984, with Members of the Paideia Group)
  • Ten Philosophical Mistakes . 1985. ISBN 0-02-500330-5
  • A Guidebook to Learning: For a Lifelong Pursuit of Wisdom (1986)
  • We Hold These Truths: Understanding the Ideas and Ideals of the Constitution (1987)
  • Reforming Education: The Opening of the American Mind (1988, edited by Geraldine Van Doren)
  • Intellect: Mind Over Matter (1990)
  • Truth in Religion: The Plurality of Religions and the Unity of Truth (1990)
  • Haves Without Have-Nots: Essays for the 21st Century on Democracy and Socialism . 1991. ISBN 0-02-500561-8
  • Desires, Right & Wrong: The Ethics of Enough . 1991.
  • A Second Look in the Rearview Mirror: Further Autobiographical Reflections of a Philosopher At Large . 1992.
  • The Great Ideas: A Lexicon of Western Thought . 1992.
  • Natural Theology, Chance, and God ( The Great Ideas Today ). 1992.
  • The Four Dimensions of Philosophy: Metaphysical-Moral-Objective-Categorical . 1993.
  • Art, the Arts, and the Great Ideas . Touchstone books. 1994. ISBN 978-0-684-80420-0
  • Adler's Philosophical Dictionary: 125 Key Terms for the Philosopher's Lexicon . 1995.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Columbians ahead of their time / Mortimer J. Adler (Columbia Univ. Website). Retrieved July 12, 2011 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Adler, Mortimer
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Adler, Mortimer Jerome (full name); Adler, Mortimer J.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American philosopher and writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 28, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , NY
DATE OF DEATH June 28, 2001