The author examines the nature of the human intellect, its link to artificial and alien intelligence, the role of language in terms of mind and meaning, and the uses and abuses of intellect

Intellect: Mind over Matter

Politics & Social Sciences

ADLER, MORTIMER JEROME

Philosophy

Collier Books

From Library Journal\nThis book has three parts: a 16-page summary of how it came to be written and of its presuppositions and objectives; a 106-page essay on morality proposing that recognizing what ought to be desired enables all normal people to attain a good life, provided that luck does not prevent it; and two appendixes of about 70 pages of relevant material. Adler regards happiness, not as an experienceable state, but as a well-lived life that attains everything that is really good. Accordingly, during our lifetime, we should distinguish real from apparent goods and desire them appropriately, i.e., neither too much nor too little. After discussing what he believes are specific right and wrong desires, he criticizes other moral philosophers such as Plato, Hume, Mill, and Dewey. Adler intends the book for the lay reader. It is often simplistic and sometimes dogmatic, but its clear exposition and concrete examples should help the reader separate the good from the bad in it. 
-Robert Hoffman, York Coll., CUNY 
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.\nFrom Publishers Weekly\nAdler, author of The Dialectic of Morals and America's philosopher for everyman, presents a thorough study of morality in the modern age, examining "real" and "apparent" good (defined respectively as needs and wants) and "right" versus "wrong" desires. Stating his positions clearly for the general reader, he reaffirms his Aristotelian roots by defining moral virtue as "the habit of right desire." Excessive desires--for example, gluttony and lust--mistake means for ends; these, like the desire for fame or power, cannot in themselves produce happiness; only by acting out higher moral values that contribute to the total good can one really be happy. Adler, chairman of Encyclopaedia Britannica 's editorial board, is comfortable with Western philosophy from Plato to Kant and gifted at making his arguments understandable. His treatise will reward readers weary of 20th-century materialism. BOMC dividend. 
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.\nFrom Kirkus Reviews\nAmerica's most prolific philosopher and encyclopedist (Haves Without Have-Nots, 1991; Truth in Religion, 1990; etc.) tries to work out a moral philosophy for the modern age, largely based on Aristotle, but somehow loses his readership along the way. The real genius of Adler has always been his ability to state the obvious in the most startling manner imaginable: To several generations of students reared on skepticism or structuralism, his affirmations of objective reality and verifiable truth have come as revelations. The strength of his position lies not so much in its originality--for it is not original--as in its confidence, the chutzpah with which it flaunts those Thomistic and Aristotelian categories that most Western philosophers imagine to have been buried for good during the Enlightenment. Here, Adler attempts to apply the principles of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics to the contemporary world. The Aristotelian hierarchy is neatly laid out for us--the distinction between the summum bonum and totum bonum, the contrast between ends and means, the obligations that individuals and societies owe toward justice and love--but it is hard to see how Adler has refined Aristotle's position (apart from ``democratizing'' it) or how he has applied it in any way that would not have been suggested just as readily by a simple reading of Aristotle himself. Neither original nor profound, Adler's work here has the musty smell of leftover notes for an already published book. For those dismayed by modern philosophy, this could provide a nudge in another direction, but only insofar as it points to someone else. Read Aristotle instead. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Desires, Right and Wrong: The Ethics of Enough

Macmillan Pub. Co.

Best-known for his achievements as an editor of massive reference works, Adler recounts his years spent among the giants of America's intellectual and educational worlds

Philosopher at Large: An Intellectual Autobiography

A founder of the "great books" movement addresses the controversy concerning what should be required study in schools and suggests a humanistic course of study that is accessible to all people

Reforming Education: The Opening of the American Mind

Education & Teaching

Van Doren, Geraldine

Schools & Teaching

Essays discuss Abraham Lincoln, Judge Bork, the decline of Communism, human nature, and the future of democracy

Haves Without Have-Nots: Essays for the 21st Century on Democracy and Socialism

Politics & Government

In the sequel to his intellectual autobiography, Philosopher at Large, the author describes his conversion, at eighty-four, to Christianity and his editorial oversight of the controversial second edition of Great Books of the Western World.

A Second Look in the Rearview Mirror: Further Autobiographical Reflections of a Philosopher at Large

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 lifeinterchangeable? 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?

The time of our lives; the ethics of common sense

HOLT. RINEHART AND WINSTON

Art and Prudence: A Study in Practical Philosophy (Aspects of Film Series)

Humor & Entertainment

Arno Press

Offers an imaginative perspective on Aristotelian logic, presenting an exploration of nature, society, and man in light of commonplace events and reexamining concepts of body, mind, change, cause, part, whole, one, and many

Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy

BANTAM BOOKS

Art, the Arts, and the Great Ideas

Continuing his exploration of the substance of a basic education, Mortimer J. Adler examines the inherent values of various art forms and considers their significance within a well-rounded curriculum. He maintains that imaginative literature and works of science, philosophy, theology, and history act upon our intellects and stimulate the discussion of ideas. The non-verbal arts, which act directly and powerfully on our emotions and sentiments without the intermediation of thought, are to be valued for their beauty, their workmanship, and the pleasure they give rather than their contributions to a body of ideas. Elucidating his ideas through the discussion of specific works, Adler concludes that an appreciation of all the human arts is essential to the development of a fully cultivated and well-educated person.

Arts & Photography

Touchstone Books

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