"Ideas won't keep: something must be done about them" --Alfred North Whitehead



WHAT A GREAT IDEA!

Dear Max,

I just received The Great Ideas Online and immediately thought what a great idea it was. To be able to garner the thoughts of Mortimer Adler in one place over a period of time is a remarkable achievement.

Robert T. Mahoney - Chicago, IL

COMMON SENSE

Dear Mr. Weismann:

Dr. Adler often speaks of "common sense" . . . How does common sense compare to wisdom? Can a man have wisdom and lack common sense?

Could you point me in the right direction?

John Barr - Alto, MI

Your letter affords us the opportunity to clarify a common misunderstanding about common sense. And no, we do not believe that it is possible for one to be wise and lack common sense. Wisdom is the goal, and the utilization of common sense is a crucial means towards that end.

In our everyday conversations, we say or hear someone say, "that person just does not have any common sense" or "that young woman really has a lot of common sense." This use of the term, common sense, refers to the sound or unsound judgments or actions of particular individuals. However, this is not the same "sense" that is meant when it is used by philosophers. When philosophers use the compound "common sense," the word common is used as "communal" meaning shared by all men everywhere at all times and places regardless of their backgrounds; the word sense is used as "experiences" and/or "opinions" commonly shared by mankind. Here are two quotes that should shed further light on this matter.

The first quote is from Harvard University Professor George Santayana's book, "Skepticism and Animal Faith" (1923): "I think that common sense, in a rough dogged way, is technically sounder than the special schools of philosophy, each of which squints and overlooks half the facts and half the difficulties in its eagerness to find in some detail the key to the whole. I am animated by distrust of all high guesses, and by sympathy with the old prejudices and workaday opinions of mankind: they are ill expressed, but they are well grounded."

The second quote is from Dr. Adler, from his book entitled "The Time of Our Lives: The Ethics of Common Sense" (1970): "The distinctive method of philosophical inquiry involves reliance on the common experience of mankind, and an appeal to it as the test of the validity of philosophical theories, either about what is and happens in the world or about what men ought to seek and do. It also involves an assessment of the validity of commonsense answers to the kind of questions for answering for which common experience by itself is adequate, no additional empirical evidence or investigation being needed.

Philosophy thus conceived is a development of the insights already possessed by the man of common sense in the light of common experience; it is a development that adds clarifying analytical distinctions, the precise definition of terms, the reinforcement of systematic reasoning, and the critical exploration of problems to which no satisfactory solution is yet available. The philosophical knowledge achieved by these additions confirms, even as it elaborates, the commonsense wisdom one need not be a philosopher to possess.

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT?

Dear Mr. Weismann:

Congratulations on your premier publication of The Great Ideas Online.

Since the object of your efforts seems to be involving more people in "The Great Conversation," here is a philosophical question that pertains to our elected officials: in our Republic, we as citizens elect our representatives. Should those representatives enact policies that reflect the opinions of their constituents or their own conscience?

Dan Ferris - Prospect Heights, IL

This vexing question has been the concern of citizens and philosophers alike. Due to the growth in size and population of our Republic, the direct participation by citizens has become too cumbrous. These historical and political developments have given rise to this issue, which as your letter indicates, is still with us.

On the one hand, it has been suggested that elected representatives should use their own judgment in voting on the issues. On the other hand, it has been thought that they should follow the will of the majority of their constituents.

Neither view seems satisfactory -- one gives them total independence from their constituents and the other makes them mere emissaries.

A compromise between these two extremes seems in order: representatives should exercise their own judgment, as their election to office ought to be based on their competence, their ability to get things done and their understanding of the issues, while at the same time taking the views held by their constituents into consideration. While the representatives have the freedom of choice in deciding what is best under the circumstances, they must remain aware that their constituents are ultimately empowered to remove them from office if their grievances are persistently ignored.

NICE JOB!

Max,

I think this journal is a great idea. It will be fun watching it evolve over time. It has great potential.

Jack Walsh - Newbury, MA

IMPRESSED

Dear Max,

I was impressed with the arrival the other day of the first edition of the Great Ideas Online. MJA's lament on the 20th Century Delusion is reminds me of the Prophets in the Old Testament.

His piece on What is an Idea reminds me of Admiral Hyman Rickover's observation: "Some people are interested in things (too many, I fear) some in people (a good thing, if it is for the right reasons) and some in ideas. I am interested in the latter." The links to on-line resources are also extremely valuable.

Mike Murphy - Nepean, Ontario Canada

FROM HIGH SCHOOL

Dear Dr. Adler,

I want to thank you for the contribution your writings have made and continue to make to my life. I am glad that I was advised a year ago, when I was just entering high school, to read How to Read a Book. I have since begun to read the great books. They are in many ways more enjoyable than the popular books that I used to read. They help me to confront the questions that must be a part of the life of any intelligent person.

I have not read them perfectly, but I certainly have tried to read as actively as possible. I have tried to find out the author's subject and purposes, and I have tried to be conscious of terms. I have tried to find the structure of the arguments, and I have tried to look for beauty in fiction. Your suggestions have helped me to gain a greater sense of the meaning and relavance of great books.

I have also, I believe, gained some greater sense of other issues from your books "How to Speak, How to Listen", "Ten Philosophical Mistakes", and "A Guidebook for Learning". It is extremely refreshing to read about reasonable positions held on a rational basis in this age of media sensationalism and irrational, destructive beliefs. I am currently reading "Desires: Right and Wrong; The Ethics of Enough".

I intend to follow a career in science, most probably in physics. I consider your suggestions about careers and studying to be extremely valuable. The scientist and the philosopher both seek understanding, although in different ways. Though I enjoy science and mathematics, I see the value of your suggestions to generalize. I study grammar, history, philosophy, and arts of all types as well as science and mathematics.

I appreciate your having spent the time to read this letter.

Jonathan Schalaifer, Bethesda, MD

HOW STRANGE AND WONDERFUL !

Max,

I just read your Great Ideas Online. How strange and wonderful! I feel I only now am embarking upon the threshold of my real education. Feels like the start of a genuine adventure!

James Lucas, Lawyer - Las Vegas, NV

ADLER REDISCOVERED

Dear Dr. Adler:

I have the honor to write to you to express my sincere gratitude for the intellectual enlightenment that your teachings and writings have given me.

I am a twenty-nine year old attorney and law professor in Venezuela, who became acquainted with your work initially twelve years ago, when I received as a gift from my parents the Great Books of the Western World. At that time I followed the reading plan for about one year. But then in my first university years my readings were distracted to the study of legal matters. I am sure that my age then was also an obstacle to understanding the teaching of those great books, as you have indicated many times.

I "rediscovered" you early last year when I obtained your How to Read a Book. This book caused a revival of my interest in the intellectual life I had during my high school years. Since reading that book, I have obtained many of your books including your two autobiographies. Your teachings have given enormous benefits in my personal life and in my academic activities.

Your teachings reintroduced me to the pleasures of reading good books and to constantly cultivate myself intellectually.

Dr. Adler I would like to thank you once more for all the inspiration you have given me through your works. I consider you my intellectual mentor, whose teachings I will follow for the rest of my life.

Dr. Gonzalo Rodriguez-Matos - Caracas, Venezuela

FROM DOWN UNDER

Dear Max,

Congratulations on the publication of the first issue of the Center's new journal in this new format. With an ever-increasing volume of ephemeral material finding its way into my e-mailbox, it is refreshing to know that at least one item will be worth reading right through, and more than once!

Paul Harrison - Seaford, South Australia

KNOWLEDGE = TRUTH

Dear Dr. Adler,

At best, it seems like we only ever have partial knowledge. How then, or when, can we ever consider ourselves to have sufficient knowledge to get, or shape a conclusion?

How can just a "part" ever grasp a portion of the "whole?"

Blaine Wieland - Spencerville, IN

The word "knowledge" has the connotation of truth; in fact, it is inseparable from it. There cannot be false knowledge, as there can be false opinions and beliefs. The phrase "true knowledge" is redundant; the phrase "false knowledge" is self-contradictory.

With this in mind, the pursuit of truth in all branches of organized knowledge involves (1) the addition of new truths to the body of settled or established truths already achieved, (2) the replacement of less accurate or less comprehensive formulations by better ones, (3) the discovery of errors or inadequacies together with the rectification of judgments found erroneous or otherwise at fault, and (4) the discarding of generalizations--or of hypotheses and theories -- that have been falsified by negative instances.

By all such steps, singly or together, the sphere of truths agreed upon enlarges and comes closer to being the whole truth.

We may have to live for a long time with disagreements that cannot be easily resolved. That should not cause us to regard them as permanently tolerable. Unanimous agreement is the appropriate condition of the human mind with regard to anything that is a matter of truth.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Dear Max,

This new venture of the Center looks very promising. I, for one, will eagerly anticipate the weekly issues. I continue to be impressed by all the different ways being devised by the Center to help people enlarge their understanding of the great ideas.

June Kikuchi - Edmonton, Alberta Canada

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

A couple of years ago when Dr. Adler moved to Northern California because of his late wife's health, I received this letter from Bill Buckley. I thought you might enjoy it.

Dear Mr. Weismann,

It is inconceivable that Mortimer Adler will not continue to enlighten the residents of Chicago. On the other hand, you have hogged him for so long, elementary considerations of redistribution entitle Northern California to have the pleasure of his company.

Besides which, his ideas and his pedagogy have enlightened us all in every corner of the globe for many decades.

Please extend to him my affectionate congratulations.

Yours cordially,

William F. Buckley, Jr.

OUR QUIZ WINNER

Matthew Thompson, a high school student from Youngstown, OH

GREAT IDEAS & GREAT BOOKS WEBSITES *

Our new links page: Thanks to our Webmeister, Terrence Berres

Our new link to Colleges & Universities with Great Books: Courtesy: Lewis Noles and Mercer University

We reserve the right to edit all submissions for relevancy and concision and to publish them at our discretion.

The Great Ideas Online is published free of charge to its members by the Center.

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