Mortimer Adler
Mortimer J. Adler was an American philosopher, educator and author. He is best known for his books, How to Read a Book, The Great Ideas, and his magnum opus, the 52-volume anthology, The Great Books of the Western World. He was also the founder of the Institute for Philosophical Research which was later named the Institute for the Study of Values.
Adler was born in 1902 and raised in New York. He graduated from Columbia University in 1924 with a degree in psychology and then earned his doctorate from Columbia Teachers College in 1928. He began his career teaching at the University of Chicago. During World War II, he worked with the US Office of Strategic Services in the production of psychological warfare materials.
Adler was a prolific writer who published numerous books, essays and articles throughout his career. He was particularly interested in philosophical questions concerning the nature of knowledge and the pursuit of wisdom. He believed that education should be focused on teaching students how to think, and his books emphasized the importance of cultivating a systematic and rigorous approach to thought.
Adler's most famous book, How to Read a Book, provides an approach to reading books which starts with an understanding of the book's basic structure, and then proceeds to the details of its content. According to Adler, an attentive reader will learn how to draw general conclusions from the reading material, how to apply those conclusions to other aspects of the subject, and how to recognize the points of disagreement between one's own conclusions and those of other authors.
The Great Ideas was Adler’s magnum opus, outlining the major ideas that have shaped Western thought and which, he claimed, should form the basis of a liberal education. This systematic approach to philosophy and education was also reflected in The Syntopicon, Adler's vast two-volume philosophical encyclopedia which catalogs and examines 102 great topics, such as duty, poetics, love, and beauty.
Adler's major educational undertaking was the 1952 edition of The Great Books of the Western World which he co-edited with Robert Hutchins. This set of books represented the most significant works of philosophy, history, science and literature from the ancient world to the present. The set remains a benchmark in education to this day and was followed by another series of books for adolescents called Gateway to the Great Books, and a one-volume version of the Great Books called The Adventures of the Mind.
Adler remained a leading figure in education and philosophy until his death in 2001. His books are still widely read and studied, and his approach to knowledge and wisdom continues to shape our understanding of education and learning.
