Six Great Ideas

Rating:
Summary: philosophy-lite
Review: If you are an intellectual idiot, you will love this book! It waters down every important philosophical idea to the predjudicial opinions of one man who basically tries to use moral persuasion to "sell" his point of view but never backs up any of his "quotes" with footnotes of the "great philosphers" he is trying to "teach" us about! NO DIRECT QUOTES!! Yikes. Who can take this book seriously?
I don't think Plato would appreciate being watered-down in this way with neither footnotes to his brilliant, original work, nor any index. NO INDEX!! Ask yourself this one question before wasting your money on this book: "Why do I need a philosophy book written by an amateur who doesn't even consider me intelligent enough to make an index for me at the back of this book so I can look up topics as I want to?" If, for example, you want to look up Plato, and what pages mentions his work in this "philosophy book" by Mr. Adler, you can't because there's no index.
As a classical homeschooler for the past nine years, I have to say I would NEVER ask my teenagers to read this book. It's just not a serious enough philosophy book to waste their time with. They are better off reading bits of Plato in the original than hearing the predjudicial opinions of Mr. Adler who's preaching, persuading, and glossing over details would make the money and time spent on it a total waste. If you still want to read it, go to the library where it's free and decide then and there whether it's worth it.
It's simply unacceptable to have neither footnotes nor index in a book such as this.

Rating:
Summary: Displays our dichotomy
Review: No clearer indication of the philosophical divide in this nation can be seen than by reading the reviews in Amazon of the works of Mortimer Adler. One group of reviewers are geniunely concerned that he has a Western orientation, that he defends such ideas as democracy and capitalism, that he seems to speak for common sense, tradition and classical liberalism. There is another group that supports him wholeheartedly because of these very views and his sympathetic voice toward religion.

TEN PHILOSOPHICAL MISTAKES is an exploration of notions that he considers small mistakes that occurred in the past. The effect of these mistakes is compounded over time until they produce a difference in the way we view ourselves and our reality. He explores each of these mistakes in detail.

Guiding Adler's thinking is a reliance on the works of Aristotle and a look at both Greek and classical European methods of learning and teaching. Also important is his view of humans as rational animals who differ from other animals - not in degree but in kind.

He has made radical proposals for education and reintroducing thinking to the classroom. This is done not through a predictable "challenge to the system" but through the Socratic method. Ironically, this method was widely used in the Arab world at the height of its power before being subsumed by theocratic stipulations. This is a good book, not flawless, but one that is well worth five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Displays our dichotomy
Review: No clearer indication of the philosophical divide in this nation can be seen than by reading the reviews in Amazon of the works of Mortimer Adler. One group of reviewers are geniunely concerned that he has a Western orientation, that he defends such ideas as democracy and capitalism, that he seems to speak for common sense, tradition and classical liberalism. There is another group that supports him wholeheartedly because of these very views and his sympathetic voice toward religion.

TEN PHILOSOPHICAL MISTAKES is an exploration of notions that he considers small mistakes that occurred in the past. The effect of these mistakes is compounded over time until they produce a difference in the way we view ourselves and our reality. He explores each of these mistakes in detail.

Guiding Adler's thinking is a reliance on the works of Aristotle and a look at both Greek and classical European methods of learning and teaching. Also important is his view of humans as rational animals who differ from other animals - not in degree but in kind.

He has made radical proposals for education and reintroducing thinking to the classroom. This is done not through a predictable "challenge to the system" but through the Socratic method. Ironically, this method was widely used in the Arab world at the height of its power before being subsumed by theocratic stipulations. This is a good book, not flawless, but one that is well worth five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as others but still a winner
Review: The philosophical divide in our culture has never been so apparent as simply reading the reviews of this book. Some fault Adler for references to ethics - as if morality had no place in philosophical thought. Others fault him for using common sense (as if that were a crime) and speaking in everyday language. Others thought he was grand because he is a deist.

Adler has written other books, better books, but one thing I like about all his books is their knack for inviting cogent comment and discussion. If only for that reason, they are important works that should be at least perused. Adler has offered radical plans for education and educators - a concrete program few have tried. The heart of this program is getting children to think, challenging their common assumptions and making them think why they think the way they do.

But to Adler this does not mean imbuing them with a political revolutionary zeal for "change". It means questioning their assumptions and defining what is important. With that in mind he wrote "Six Great Ideas", some of which are interrelated. To some, these ideas are dated but what he makes clear is that all six of these are universals and, because of their relationship to people, always will be.

For a better discussion of ideas get his 101 Great Ideas.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as others but still a winner
Review: The philosophical divide in our culture has never been so apparent as simply reading the reviews of this book. Some fault Adler for references to ethics - as if morality had no place in philosophical thought. Others fault him for using common sense (as if that were a crime) and speaking in everyday language. Others thought he was grand because he is a deist.

Adler has written other books, better books, but one thing I like about all his books is their knack for inviting cogent comment and discussion. If only for that reason, they are important works that should be at least perused. Adler has offered radical plans for education and educators - a concrete program few have tried. The heart of this program is getting children to think, challenging their common assumptions and making them think why they think the way they do.

But to Adler this does not mean imbuing them with a political revolutionary zeal for "change". It means questioning their assumptions and defining what is important. With that in mind he wrote "Six Great Ideas", some of which are interrelated. To some, these ideas are dated but what he makes clear is that all six of these are universals and, because of their relationship to people, always will be.

For a better discussion of ideas get his 101 Great Ideas.

Rating:
Summary: This one stunk!
Review: This book changed my life. Many people nowadays think that philosophy is an ivory tower excercise. It is not. And it is not impractical. This book had a profound impact on my thinking. It is very reasonable philosophy that led me to hunger for the nobler things in life. I highly suggest this book, especially to those who have never learned philosophy or have only learned philosophy from rationalists on.

Rating:
Summary: This one stunk!
Review: This book was horrid. Exceptionally hard to read much less follow. Book was used for a philosophy class.. seemed more of a book for ethics. Author was continually referring to I wrote this and I worked on this.. Book was a waste to my money!!