Book Review: The Four Dimensions of Philosophy by Mortimer J. Adler

The Four Dimensions of Philosophy: Metaphysical, Moral, Objective, and Categorical by Mortimer J. Adler

Philosophy gets little to no respect in the contemporary world. It's considered too abstract and not relevant, the sort of thing that gets discussed in a college dorm room or during the later half of a cocktail party. Mortimer Adler, the chief editor of Encyclopedia Brittanica's Great Books of the Western World series, gives a defense of philosophy through a clarification of its place in human knowing. 

Philosophy, with its root meaning (the love of wisdom--philo sophia), began in Greek and Roman antiquity as the primary way to know the world. The first great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, laid the foundation for almost all subsequent philosophical investigation. In their time, philosophy and science were practically synonymous, creating an awkward on-going relationship that has plagued philosophy for thousands of years. The competition between science and philosophy has reduced philosophy's public relevance since the seventeenth century, when science blossomed into its own distinct discipline. Adler distinguishes the two disciplines by their source material. Science uses specialized observations to increase knowledge of specific aspects of the physical world. Philosophy uses common experience and common sense to reflect on the world in general. 

Philosophy looks at both first-order question (about the world itself) and second-order questions (about how we know the world). The first-order questions are divided into the descriptive (thus metaphysical knowledge of the being of things) and the proscriptive (thus moral knowledge of how to behave). The second-order questions also have two dimensions, based on the two meanings of the word "idea." "Ideas" in the sense we get from Plato are the intelligible objects of the mind, thus objective knowledge. "Ideas" are also the various types or categories of knowledge, thus categorical knowledge (so there's a philosophy of history or of psychology or other intellectual disciplines).

This book is very thorough and disciplined. Adler does a good job making distinctions between various concepts. He has a good grasp of the history of thought and the roles that philosophy, theology, science, and mathematics have played at various times. The text might be difficult for people who haven't read much philosophy before, i.e. he's a bit technical.

The book ends with a summation of the strengths and weaknesses of philosophical thinking in various ages (the classical, the medieval, and the contemporary). His analysis of the problems of philosophy and his proscriptions for a better philosophical future are interesting and inspiring.

Recommended for a good understanding of philosophy in general and its tumultuous relationship with science in particular.

Crazy (and Not So Crazy) Quotes

Here's a bunch of quotes that have been waiting to be published. I thought I would get a bunch more but I'm never near the computer when I read a book and find a quote I like.

From "Walk Around Historic Harrogate" by Malcolm Neesam: "Just round the corner from Harrogate theatre, the unusually named BEULAH STREET (once a hotbed of rampant Methodism)..." Neesam also quotes Charles Dickens who visited Harrogate in 1858 and described it as "The queerest place, with the strangest people, leading the oddest lives..."

From the health and hygiene section of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer: "So, as long as you can get enough to eat, and can avoid all the various lethal infections, the dangers of childbirth, lead poisoning and the extreme violence, you should live a long time. All you have to worry about are the doctors." [p. 209]

From Adler's Philosophical Dictionary by Mortimer Adler: "We cannot understand what it means to say that man is a rational animal without, at the same time, recognizing that a rational animal is a freak of nature. The nature of a rational animal is a mixture of incompatible elements." [p. 74]

From the Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum: "The greatest tragedies in history occur not when right confronts wrong but when two rights confront each other." Henry Kissinger

From Medieval Women Mystics, quoting Julian of Norwich: "I am not good because of this vision, but only if I love God more because of it. And to the extent that you love God more than I do, you are that much better than I am. I am not saying this to those who are wise, for they know it well enough. But I am saying it to you who are simple, to give you peace and comfort, for we are in fact all one in love. And truly it was not shown to me that God loves me more than the least soul that is in a state of grace. I am sure that there are many who never had any revelations or visions outside the ordinary teaching of Holy Church and yet who love God more than I do. [p. 132]

Book Review: Adler's Philosophical Dictionary by Mortimer J. Adler

Adler's Philosophical Dictionary: 125 Key Terms for the Philosopher's Lexicon by Mortimer J. Adler

Late in his career, Mortimer Adler produced this slim volume as a companion piece and summary of his previous works in philosophy. He defines 125 key philosophical terms, explaining how they are used correctly and the common errors people make about the terms. He also explains how those terms as ideas fit into his larger body of work, and indeed into the larger understanding of reality and human experience. Even though these are philosophical terms, the field of philosophy often touches upon or overlaps other fields, such as science, politics, and theology. His explanations of how they fit in with the other disciplines is insightful and helps the reader to understand Adler's larger world view (including his Christian faith). Occasionally the reader has to slow down or repeat a reading to get the nuances of Adler's definitions but the effort is well worth the reward. The book is barely 200 pages, so even a slow reading does not take a huge amount of time.

Sample Text, from the entry on Continence and Incontinence (which is used very differently in philosophical circles than in common parlance):

We cannot understand what it means to say that man is a rational animal without, at the same time, recognizing that a rational animal is a freak of nature. The nature of a rational animal is a mixture of incompatible elements. [p. 74]

Book Review: Aristotle of Everybody by Mortimer J. Adler

Aristotle of Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy by Mortimer J. Adler

Writing a comprehensive and concise summary of Aristotle's ideas is a difficult task, especially if the author wishes it to be accessible not only to the average reader but also to children in middle school. That ambition is what Mortimer Adler aimed at with this book. His thirteen year-old and his eleven year-old read the manuscript and gave helpful feedback, so he certainly thinks it is a success. But is it readable for children who don't have a professional philosopher and intellectual for a dad?

The book is comprehensive, touching on all the topics in Aristotle's theoretical and practical thinking. Adler uses an easy to follow structure to work through them all. He starts with the idea that Aristotle has reflected deeply on the common sense understanding of the world, so deeply that his theories are uncommonly common sensical. Most everyone wants to be like this and that's why they enjoy games like "Twenty Questions" or "Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?". Those games naturally lead into a discussion Aristotle's taxonomy of reality, dividing it into living and non-living things, then the living into plants, animals, and human beings.

Humans, as rational animals, can be looked at in various ways. In one way, they are makers of material things like chairs and songs, leading into discussions of the four causes, changes in being, and artistic endeavors. In a second way, humans are doers of actions, looking at us as moral agents who seek a certain good not only for themselves (ethics) but for others (politics). In a third way, humans are thinkers, leading to discussions of how men know what they know, along with the nature of truth, logic, and certainty in Aristotle's philosophy. Adler concludes the book with more difficult questions on infinity, eternity, immateriality, and God. An appendix references the sections of Aristotle's texts that Adler drew upon for each discussion.

Since the scope is so huge, this book is not a quick or light read even at 200 pages. His exposition is clear but a little dry. Examples are used throughout the book but only with laser-like focus on the point at hand. Readers never come to a passage where a short story explains an idea and provides a little color for the book. On the other hand, the book does hit all the major points in Aristotle's philosophy, making it a nice substitute for or supplement to a college course on Aristotle. Reading the book is definitely worth the effort put into it. I think it would be too challenging for middle school students, but high school and up can make it through.