How to Think about the Great Ideas

Book excerpt: Time magazine called Mortimer J. Adler a philosopher for everyman. In this guide to considering the big questions, Adler addresses the topics all men and women ponder in the course of life, such as What is love?, How do we decide the right thing to do?, and, What does it mean to be good? Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Western literature, history, and philosophy, the author considers what is meant by democracy, law, emotion, language, truth, and other abstract concepts in light of more than two millennia of Western civilization and discourse. Adler's essays offer a remarkable and contemplative distillation of the Great Ideas of Western Thought.