Aristotle taught logic to Alexander the Great and, through his enduring philosophical works, to Mortimer Adler as well. The one went on to conquer the world; the other to dominate the field of adult education in the United States. Now Adler instructs the world in the "uncommon common sense" of Aristotelian logic.

v. 1. A dialectical examination of the conceptions of freedom.--v. 2. A dialectical examination of the controversies about freedom.

Is it a good time to be alive? Is ours a good society to be alive in? Is it possible to have a good life in our time? And finally, does a good life consist of having a good time? Are happiness and “a good life” interchangeable? These are the questions that Mortimer Adler addresses himself to. The heart of the book lies in its conception of the good life for man, which provides the standard for measuring a century, a (...) society, or a culture: for upon that turns the meaning of each man’s primary moral right – his right to the pursuit of happiness. The moral philosophy that Dr. Adler expounds in terms of this conception he calls “the ethics of common sense,” because it is as a defense and development of the common-sense answer to the question “can I really make a good life for myself?”. (shrink)

Discusses complex philosophical problems in concrete language to better understand the eternal concepts that shaped Western culture.

CHAPTER ONE Plato IT is a mark of wisdom in Greek political thought that the form and content of education receive primary consideration from those who are ...

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Prologue: retrospective and prospective -- The ethics of enough -- Real and apparent goods -- Wrong desires: pleasure, money, fame, and power -- Right desires: the totum bonum and its constituents -- Fundamental errors in moral philosophy -- Necessary but not sufficient -- Epilogue: transcultural ethics.

Preface by Dr. Franz Alexander - Director, Psychiatric and Pychosomatic Research Institute Mount Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles. Vol. 9.

Timed to coincide with the publication of the second volume of Mortimer J. Adler's memoirs, A Second Look in the Rearview Mirror, this paperback reissue of Philospher At Large will delight readers as America's "philospher for everyman" (Time) recounts his first 50 years of achievement in the fields of education and publishing. Photographs.

The conditions of philosophy: its checkered past, its present disorder, and its future promise.

Is philosophy in its dotage? Is it bankrupt and no longer deserving of the respect that is accorded science? Or is it still in infancy? As major intellectual enterprises in our Western civilization, science and philosophy have had equally long careers, going back to their simultaneous beginnings more than 2,500 years ago. The last 300 years have brought science to high public esteem for its methods, its accomplishments, and its usefulness. But in that same 300 years the methods, accomplishments, and (...) usefulness of philosophy have come, more and more, to be questioned - by philosophers themselves as well as by the public. (shrink)

IX INTRODUCTION It is no exaggeration to say that in many scientific centers not the interest in certain fundamental problems but the fortuitous possession of ...