Welcome to our collection of profound insights from Mortimer Adler, a prominent American philosopher, educator, and author. Mortimer Adler’s contributions to the realms of philosophy, education, and literature have left an indelible mark on intellectual discourse. With a career spanning several decades, Adler’s works continue to inspire and provoke thought across diverse fields.
Born in 1902, Mortimer Adler’s intellectual prowess manifested early in life. He became renowned for his erudition and his commitment to the pursuit of knowledge. Throughout his career, Adler championed the idea of lifelong learning, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and intellectual curiosity. His writings on topics ranging from education and ethics to metaphysics and epistemology have earned him a place among the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. As we delve into the wisdom of Mortimer Adler, we invite you to explore his profound reflections and consider their relevance to your own journey of intellectual discovery. Stay tuned for enlightening quotes from this visionary thinker below.
We acknowledge but one motive – to follow the truth as we know it, whithersoever it may lead us; but in our heart of hearts we are well assured that the truth which has made us free, will in the end make us glad also. Mortimer Adler
In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you. Mortimer Adler
The telephone book is full of facts, but it doesn’t contain a single idea. Mortimer Adler
The ultimate end of education is happiness or a good human life, a life enriched by the possession of every kind of good, by the enjoyment of every type of satisfaction. Mortimer Adler
Think how different human societies would be if they were based on love rather than justice. But no such societies have ever existed on earth. Mortimer Adler
We are selfish when we are exclusively or predominantly concerned with the good for ourselves. We are altruistic when we are exclusively or predominantly concerned with the good of others. Mortimer Adler
If you never ask yourself any questions about the meaning of a passage, you cannot expect the book to give you any insight you do not already possess. Mortimer Adler
Idling is important. Most people don’t know how. They’re afraid of it. This explains why they turn on the television set or pick up the newspaper. They think they have to be doing something. Mortimer Adler
One of the embarrassing problems for the early nineteenth-century champions of the Christian faith was that not one of the first six Presidents of the United States was an orthodox Christian. Mortimer Adler
Ask others about themselves, at the same time, be on guard not to talk too much about yourself. Mortimer Adler
Leisure is not synonymous with time. Nor is it a noun. Leisure is a verb. I leisure. You leisure. Mortimer Adler
Friendship is a very taxing and arduous form of leisure activity. Mortimer Adler
Love without conversation is impossible. Mortimer Adler
The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live. Mortimer Adler
The philosopher ought never to try to avoid the duty of making up his mind. Mortimer Adler
I find the selectivity of erotic love – the choice of this man or this woman – much more intelligible if liking the person is the origin of sexual interest, rather than the other way. Mortimer Adler
The love which moves the world, according to common Christian belief, is God’s love and the love of God. Mortimer Adler
Love wishes to perpetuate itself. Love wishes for immortality. Mortimer Adler
One of the aims of sexual union is procreation – the creation by reproduction of an image of itself, of the union. Mortimer Adler
Ultimately, we wish the joy of perfect union with the person we love. Mortimer Adler
Not to engage in the pursuit of ideas is to live like ants instead of like men. Mortimer Adler
If one wants another only for some self-satisfaction, usually in the form of sensual pleasure, that wrong desire takes the form of lust rather than love. Mortimer Adler
We love even when our love is not requited. Mortimer Adler
When we ask for love, we don’t ask others to be fair to us-but rather to care for us, to be considerate of us. There is a world of difference here between demanding justice… and begging or pleading for love. Mortimer Adler
Conjugal love, or the friendship of spouses, can persist even after sexual desires have weakened, withered, and disappeared. Mortimer Adler
Aristotle uses a mother’s love for her child as the prime example of love or friendship. Mortimer Adler
There is only one situation I can think of in which men and women make an effort to read better than they usually do. It is when they are in love and reading a love letter. Mortimer Adler
Being influential is not the mark of a great book. Mortimer Adler
In idling, the motor’s running, but you’re letting your mind take in anything. Things pop into it. Those are the gifts of subterranean conscious. Mortimer Adler
Work is toil: what one does only to earn a living. If it gives pleasure, it is leisure. Mortimer Adler
You have to allow a certain amount of time in which you are doing nothing in order to have things occur to you, to let your mind think. Mortimer Adler
Freud’s view is that all love is sexual in its origin or its basis. Even those loves which do not appear to be sexual or erotic have a sexual root or core. They are all sublimations of the sexual instinct. Mortimer Adler
Unless we love and are loved, each of us is alone, each of us is deeply lonely. Mortimer Adler
I wonder if most people ever ask themselves why love is connected with reproduction. And if they do ask themselves about this, I wonder what answer they give. Mortimer Adler
Erotic or sexual love can truly be love if it is not selfishly sexual or lustful. Mortimer Adler
Love consists in giving without getting in return; in giving what is not owed, what is not due the other. That’s why true love is never based, as associations for utility or pleasure are, on a fair exchange. Mortimer Adler
Theories of love are found in the works of scientists, philosophers, and theologians. Mortimer Adler
In English we must use adjectives to distinguish the different kinds of love for which the ancients had distinct names. Mortimer Adler
It is love rather than sexual lust or unbridled sexuality if, in addition to the need or want involved, there is also some impulse to give pleasure to the persons thus loved and not merely to use them for our own selfish pleasure. Mortimer Adler
Freedom is the emancipation from the arbitrary rule of other men. Mortimer Adler
Men value things in three ways: as useful, as pleasant or sources of pleasure, and as excellent, or as intrinsically admirable or honorable. Mortimer Adler
An educated person is one who, through the travail of his own life, has assimilated the ideas that make him representative of his culture. Mortimer Adler
Love can be unselfish, in the sense of being benevolent and generous, without being selfless. Mortimer Adler