Mortimer Adler

Mortimer J. Adler (December 28, 1902 ’Ŭ June 28, 2001) was a philosopher, editor, educator, and prolific author. The son of an immigrant jewelry salesman, Adler dropped out of school at age 14 to become a copy boy for the New York Sun. He hoped to become a journalist, and decided a few years to take some classes at Columbia University to improve his writing. While there he became interested in philosophy after reading the works of English professor John Stuart Mill. Learning that Mill had to read Plato at age five, Adler decided to broaden his philosophical knowledge. He went on to become a professor at Columbia where he wrote numerous books about Western philosophy. Adler avoided academic-sounding language in order to make his thoughts accessible to all readers. He went on write more than 50 books. In the 1930s, Adler became a professor at the University of Chicago, where he advanced the adoption of the Classics as a main part of the curriculum. In later years, Adler helped found the Institute for Philosophical Research, the Aspen Institute, and the Center for the Study of the Great Ideas. Adler's belief in the importance of Classical education led a significant number of American colleges to adopt the Great Books programs ’Ŭ cores of required classes that focus on key works of Western philosophy and literature. Adler was also the inventor and editor of the Syntopicon, which featured his 102 essays on the great ideas of Western civilization. Mortimer Adler addressed the student delegates at the 1985 Achievement Summit in Denver, Colorado on his philosophy of achievement.