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THE GREAT IDEAS ONLINE A Syntopical Approach to the Great Books
HOW TO READ A DIFFICULT BOOK Dear Dr. Adler, To be honest with you, I have found the great books to be rather difficult to read. I will take your word for it that they are great books, but how am I to appreciate them if they are too hard for me to read? What helpful hints can you give me on how to read these difficult books? Mel Friedman, Evanston, IL
The most important rule about reading is one that I have told at my great books seminars again and again: In reading a difficult book for the first time, read the book through without stopping. Pay attention to what you can understand, and don't be stopped by what you can't immediately grasp on this way. Read the book through undeterred by the paragraphs, footnotes, arguments, and references that escape you. If you stop at any of these stumbling blocks, if you let yourself get stalled, you are lost. In most cases you won't be able to puzzle the thing out by sticking to it. You have better chance of understanding it on a second reading, but that requires you to read the book through for the first time. This is the most practical method I know to break the crust of a book, to get the feel and general sense of it, and to come to terms with its structure as quickly and as easily as possible. The longer you delay in getting some sense of the over-all plan of a book, the longer you are in understanding it. You simply must have some grasp of the whole before you can see the parts in their true perspective -- or often in any perspective at all. Shakespeare was spoiled for generations of high-school students who were forced to go through Julius Caesar, Hamlet, or Macbeth scene by scene, to look up all the words that were new to them, and to study all the scholarly footnotes. As a result, they never actually read the play. Instead they were dragged through it, bit by bit, over a period of many weeks. By the time they got to the end of the play, they had surely forgotten the beginning. They should have been encouraged to read the play in one sitting. Only then would they have understood enough of it to make it possible for them to understand more. What you understand by reading a book through to the end -- even if it is only fifty per cent or less will help you later in making the additional effort to go back to places you passed by on your first reading. Actually you will be proceeding like any traveler in unknown parts. Having been over the terrain once, you will be able to explore it again from points you could not have known about before. You will be less likely to mistake the side roads for the main highway. You won't be deceived by the shadows at high noon because you will remember how they looked at sunset. And the mental map you have fashioned will show better how the valleys and mountains are all part of one landscape. There is nothing magical about a first quick reading. It cannot work wonders and should certainly never be thought of as a substitute for the careful reading that a good book deserves. But a first quick reading makes the careful study much easier. This practice helps you to keep alert in going at a book. How many times have you daydreamed your way through pages and pages only to wake up with no idea of the ground you have been over? That can't help happening if you let yourself drift passively through a book. No one even understands much that way. You must have a way of getting a general thread to hold onto. A good reader is active in his efforts to understand. Any book is a problem, a puzzle. The reader's attitude is that of a detective looking for clues to its basic ideas and alert for anything that will make them clearer. The rule about a first quick reading helps to sustain this attitude. If you follow it, you will be surprised how much time you will save, how much more you will grasp, and how much easier it will be.
GREAT IDEAS FOR HOLIDAY GIVING We are pleased to announce that the Center can now offer you a limited number of Mortimer Adler's most renowned and edifying books on audiocassettes. Imagine the profit and enjoyment of learning while driving, exercising, or just relaxing. Your order helps to support the Center's work, and is most appreciated.
ARISTOTLE FOR EVERYBODY
by Mortimer J. Adler Says Mortimer Adler, "Almost all of the philosophical truths that I have come to know and understand I have learned from Aristotle." In "Aristotle For Everybody", Adler sets forth the truths he has learned from Aristotle, stating and explaining them in a manner that is intended to make them easily understood by everyone. Because Aristotle's wisdom and philosophical insights are grounded in the common experience we all possess, and because they illuminate and enrich the common sense we all rely on, this easy-to-listen-to exposition of his thought about the world of nature, about the actions and productions of man, and about the conduct of life, confirms convictions that most of us hold, though we may not always be fully aware of them. Philosophy, Adler maintains, is everybody's business. It deepens our understanding of the knowledge we already have about ourselves, our society, and the world in which we live. Dr. Adler thinks that all of us have a human obligation to engage in this effort of understanding and that, with the proper guidance, we will derive great satisfaction from our success in doing it. No better guide than Aristotle can be found. This is a self-help book in the best sense of the term . . . The Aristotelian wisdom Mortimer Adler affords us goes far beyond anything all the Norman Vincent Peales, Michael Kordas, and Wayne Dyers combined have to offer. Above all, Adler once again demonstrated that philosophy, real philosophy, can actually be useful." -- Chicago Tribune Book World Four 90-minute cassettes $34.00
ART, THE ARTS, AND THE GREAT IDEAS
by Mortimer J. Adler "Let us suppose that Picasso had said in words what we can suppose he meant about war in that famous painting "Guernica" Would it have been much more than General William Sherman's famous dictum that war is hell." Does a piece of visual or musical art have any content? Do the fine arts have anything at all to say about ideas? How is a sonata different from a poem? In "Art, The Arts, and The Great Ideas", Mortimer Adler challenges us to precision in language, tracing the historical permutations of pivotal words like "art," "idea," and "significance." He ambitiously defines these three words in terms of their everyday meanings, and then their (often very different) philosophical meanings. Fundamental to his argument is the question of whether art (such as paintings and sculptures) and the performing arts (such as music and dancing) can elicit the discussion of ideas and basic concepts as do books. Two 90-minute cassettes $19.00
HOW TO READ A BOOK
by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren "How to Read a Book", first published in 1940, is now a rare phenomenon, a living classic. It is the best, most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader, now completely rewritten and updated. You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them -- from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading. You learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author's message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science. The authors also offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests for measuring your own progress in reading skills, comprehension and speed. Eleven 90-minute cassettes $79.00
HOW TO SPEAK, HOW TO LISTEN
by Mortimer J. Adler A companion book to "How to Read a Book". Drawing on decades of experience as educator and philosopher, Mortimer Adler gives the listener a short course in effective communication filled with the Adler wisdom and wit. Both instructive and practical, "How to Speak, How to Listen" will be invaluable to everyone: salespeople and executives involved in conferences and negotiations, politicians, lecturers, and teachers, as well as families seeking to improve communication among themselves. "Dr. Adler offers us both a fascinating theoretical analysis of oral communication and practical tips derived from his long years of experience. This book will be appreciated by anyone who ever has to get up before an audience and speak." -- Chicago Tribune Six 90-minute cassettes $44.00
SIX GREAT IDEAS
by Mortimer J. Adler Each summer, Mortimer Adler conducts a seminar at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. At the 1981 seminar, leaders from the worlds of business, literature, education, and the arts joined him in an in-depth consideration of the six great ideas that are the subject of this book: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty -- the ideas we judge by; and Liberty, Equality, and Justice -- the ideas we act on. The group discussions and conversations between Dr. Adler and journalist Bill Moyers were filmed for broadcast on public television, and thousands of people followed their exploration of these important ideas. Discarding the outworn and off-putting jargon of academia, Dr. Adler dispels the myth that philosophy is the exclusive province of the specialist. He argues that "philosophy is everybody's business," and that a better understanding of these fundamental concepts is essential if we are to cope with the political, moral, and social issues that confront us daily. "Adler offers enough reassessment of classical concepts to make one a more thoughtful human being, or want to become one." -- Chicago Tribune "A vigorous, sane alternative to both academic murk and popular pseudo-philosophies." -- The Kansas City Times Six 90-minute cassettes $44.00
TEN PHILOSOPHICAL MISTAKES
by Mortimer J. Adler A few of the ten philosophical mistakes Dr. Adler discusses include: (1) The mistake of identifying happiness with a good time (i.e., hedonism) rather than with possessing that which is good for us and fulfills our natural needs; (2) The error of failing to differentiate between two realms of thought, the perceptual and the conceptual, which leads to the even more egregious mistake of denying that there is any distinction between the human mind, with its conceptual powers, and the minds of brute animals with nothing but perceptual powers; (3) The failure to understand the affirmation of free will or free choice, and the denial of it by determinists, who make the error of identifying free choice with something that happens entirely by chance. This leads to the rejection of moral responsibility. Dr. Adler feels it is not too late to reverse the tide of centuries upon centuries of escalating misconceptions and to learn to live richer and happier lives. It is only unfortunate that in modern times, "much has been lost that might have been avoided if ancient truths had been preserved." "Mortimer Adler has the knack of steering readers through deep intellectual waters and making it easy to stay afloat." -- The Pittsburgh Press Four 90-minute cassettes $34.00
WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS
by Mortimer J. Adler "When Mortimer Adler writes about the Constitution of the United States at this bicentennial time, it properly may be said that one has nothing less than a duty to read and to learn." -- Harry A. Blackmun, Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court Mortimer Adler has devoted a lifetime to studying the Great Ideas and explaining even the most difficult concepts to the average citizen, earning Time magazine's praise as "a philosopher for everyman." In "We Hold These Truths", Dr. Adler caps his life's work by illuminating the ideas and ideals that have made the United States of America a truly unique nation in the annals of history. The ideas Dr. Adler examines include those at the core of the Declaration of Independence -- human equality, inalienable human rights, civil rights, the pursuit of happiness, and both the consent and dissent of the governed. These are the ideas that form the basis for the ideals found in the Preamble to the Constitution that bind us together as a nation -- justice, domestic tranquillity, the common defense, the general welfare, and the blessings of liberty. Seven 90-minute cassettes $49.00
YES! Please send me the following audiobooks: ____ ARISTOTLE FOR EVERYBODY - $34.00 * ____ ART, THE ARTS, AND THE GREAT IDEAS - $19.00 * ____ HOW TO READ A BOOK - $79.00 * ____ HOW TO SPEAK, HOW TO LISTEN - $44.00 * ____ SIX GREAT IDEAS - $44.00 * ____ TEN PHILOSOPHICAL MISTAKES - $34.00 * ____ WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS - $49.00 * * FREE shipping and handling in US and Canada. For your convenience, you may mail, fax, phone, or (SAFELY) e-mail your credit card number and expiration date. NAME: $ ________________ Total amount for audiobooks $ ________________ I/We would like to support the Center with this gift to the Annual "Adler's Angels" Fund ** $ ________________ TOTAL AMOUNT Charge my ____ VISA ____ MASTERCARD ____ DISCOVER Card Number: Expiration Date: Or send check payable to:
THE GREAT IDEAS (Unless otherwise instructed, we will ship to your home address on file) ** Contributions to the Center are deductible for federal income tax purposes. The Center is a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 educational organization deriving its funding from membership donations, seminar tuitions, and private gifts. Dr. Adler and Mr. Weismann donate their time and efforts. Donations are used for office expenses only.
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Revised 7 December 1998 |