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10th out of 58 books
—
3 voters
Six Great Ideas
A Simon & Schuster eBook
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
December 1st 1997
by Touchstone
(first published 1981)
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Mortimer J. Adler, the author, is the classic white male patriarchal humanities scholar. He 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, be...more
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...more
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.
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...more
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...more
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This is probably the first true philosophy book I ever read. pen my mind to a world of ideas.
I read the precursor to this, "The Great Ideas" by Mortimer Adler. It's good. Thoughtprovoking.
Aug 09, 2012
Jessica
added it
it all seemed kind of like common sense, but good lessons none the less :)
Philosophy. One could discuss this book for the rest of their lives...
Sep 23, 2010
Craig J.
added it
Six Great Ideas by Mortimer J. Adler (1997)
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 on...more
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 on...more
Good stuff
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jun 01, 2008
mike
added it
terrible book, notable for having nearly killed my interest in Great Ideas.
May 13, 2013
Steven
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May 11, 2013
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May 05, 2013
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Mortimer Jerome Adler was an American educator, philosopher, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked with Aristotelian and Thomistic thought. 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 born in N...more
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