A clearly written introduction to Aristotle's philosophy written by a modern aristotelian

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	• Aristotle for Everybody Mortimer J. Adler Touchstone, 1997 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A clearly written introduction to Aristotle's philosophy written by a modern aristotelian

Adler, who taught at the University of Chicago and was associated with the "Great Books" movement, finds fault with Aristotle's views on the inferiority of women and the naturalness of slavery. Otherwise, he finds Aristotle's views as a philosopher unparalleled, with Aristotle remaining the philosopher of common sense.

For Adler, philosophy has to do with elaborating and reflecting on common sense based on the everyday experiences that all humans have, as opposed to the specialized experiences of scientists. That scientists' `specialized' experiences may challenge some of the assumptions of common sense is not considered by him.

Aristotle, unlike Parminedes, accepted that things change. Unlike Plato, he viewed this change as `real' not illusory. But like them he accepted that the things that change retain something permanent and unchanging called by him "substance." This leads to the law of identity, "A is A," not formally stated by Aristotle or Adler but implicit in their work. Knowledge for Aristotle consisted of the search for this `substance,' for the unchanging `essence' or `form' of things. For the non-aristotelian such "common sense" involves an uncritical objectification of subject-predicate grammar and will not do for a modern, process view. Nonetheless it still has a powerful pull.

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Aristotle-Everybody's philosopher

Mortimer Adler is one of my favorite philosophers because; he can take complex philosophical ideas and make them understandable for the non-philosopher. This is a great skill that few philosophers posses and one of the reasons why ordinary people do not read philosophy. In this book, Adler distills Aristotle's thoughts on metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. My major interest is in political philosophy, how do humans create a better society to live in? Aristotle builds a case for the need all of us to strive to live the "good life." A few of Aristotle's quotes are in order to delineate his thinking. "That which is really `good' for us is something we always ought to desire because we need it." "A good life is one that has been lived by making morally virtuous choices or decisions." Aristotle was the first philosopher to label man as "a social animal." "Human beings can not live well or achieve the best lives for themselves, by living well or achieve the best lives for themselves, by living together in families and tribes." To achieve this "good life" we must live in states. So, what is the best state? The best state provides a guarantee of freedoms, less economic regulation, provide a safety net for people with bad luck, provide a good education so that we can be trained to make us morally virtuous citizens.

I cannot sing Adler's praises enough; he does a great job of simplifying Aristotle's concepts. A great beginning book on philosophy, which delves into the teachings of the most brilliant person in history.

As a retired Army officer and student of political philosophy, I found this to be a great book to continue one's journey into political philosophy.

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Aristotle is for everybody

Philosophy is everybody's business according to Mortimer Adler and to him Aristotle is our best teacher. His views are timeless because he drew them from the common experience of all men from all time. He was the master of uncommon common sense.

Aristotle says reason is what is common to all mankind. The ability to ask questions about the world, to categorize and to play philosophical games. Man utilizes reason in three directions: producing, practicing and knowing. Alder follows this scheme to explain Aristotle's synoptic view of the world.

As a producer man transforms nature into art. The possibility of art or culture made by human purpose is predicated on the change that happens all the time in the world. Changes are categorized by type (location, quantity, quality, coming to be and passing away) and causes (material, efficient, formal, final). All things in the world are composed of form and matter. The form is what gives things their universality, their what-ness. Matter is what gives things their particularity, their this-ness. Form is a thing's function. Matter, its potentiallity to adopt function. So when someone produces a new thing he trans-forms an old thing. He first has the idea in his mind of the form of what he wishes to make, then with the right know-how, he imposes it upon the materials.

As a practicer or a doer man is concerned with ends and means. What he wants to do and what he needs to do first in order to achieve it. Aristotle contends that all men need a master plan that directs all action to a single goal. From the axiom that what is really good is desirable he concludes that the ultimate end of all men is the good life, or Happiness. Unfortunately, man has acquired desires that are not good for him and for too much of things that are only good in limited proportions. For this reason Aristotle makes virtue, or the habit of choosing the real goods that will bring happiness, the chief good. But even the virtuous man can be impeded in his pursuit of happiness by bad fortune. For this reason individuals associate together first in families. Here they help each other find the bodily goods necessary to live and the social goods necessary to live well. To further meet their social need men gather in states. Those that love each other go to lengths to see that they get the goods that they need, while all men owe justice to one another, that is, that they do nothing to interfere with them obtaining the goods necessary for happiness. Because not all men love one another and not all men are just governments are necessary.

In the part on man as a knower, Adler deals with the process of thinking itself. Aristotle's theory of knowledge begins with the senses. Information about the bodies in the external world is brought into the mind through our sense organs. The mind pieces together our sensations, relates them, works them through the imagination and memory and then makes ideas. Ideas are the forms of the things we sense extracted from the matter and put into our minds. When the mind begins relating ideas and making assertion then it has progressed to the realm of reasoning and inference. According to Aristotle there are rules that govern the validity and truth of reasoning and inference, such as the law of non-contradiction. What is cannot be what is not and what is not cannot be what is. Adler then explains the difference between contradictories, contraries and subcontraries. Next, the rules for syllogisms or mediate arguments. Finally, he gets to explaining the levels of knowing we can have. To Aristotle, self evident truths, axioms, and conclusions from them are the only things that are knowledge, everything else is varying degrees of opinion. There is mere personal taste. Then there are opinions held on the authority of others and not reason, whether true/false, axiomatic/non-axiomatic. Last, there are the scientific, historical, and philosophical conclusions based off the preponderance of the evidence.

The last four chapters of the book are what Adler calls "difficult questions." The first is on the concept of infinity. Adler gives Aristotle's refutation of Democritus' infinite, indivisible atom theory and discusses the reason that potential infinity is a possibility but an actual infinity in existence is not. In the next chapter (Eternity) Adler says that time (the dimension of change) is infinite in both directions, ie, the world has no beginning and no end, because all change must have a cause. In "The Immateriality of Mind", Adler further elaborates on matter and form, explaining how the forms are the immaterial aspect of the material world and that the mind is thus necessarily immaterial in order to collect the forms as ideas. In his chapter on "God" he discusses how Aristotle's prime mover is a purely actual, perfect, immaterial being that causes all change without himself being caused through being an attractive force or a final cause to the heavenlies.

Mortimer Adler's style is clear and concise. He writes at a popular level without technical philosophical jargon or uncommon philosophical concepts. He uses many helpful and humorous illustrations.

As far as Adler's fidelity to Aristotle is concerned, I am not qualified to comment except to state where he openly declares his dissent from the Philosopher. The first thing I remember is that Adler takes exception to Aristotle's view that slaves and women are not entitled to the same rights as free men. I suppose this might make much of Adler's view on justice and government suspect. Another instance is in his chapter on God Adler postulates the prime mover as a Creator in the sense that he is necessary to sustain the world's existence.

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A "Must Read" for Everybody

There isn't very much I can add to what has already been said by other reviewers. This is an absolutely excellent and accessible introduction to Aristotle and his thinking. As one reviewer says, the chapters are very logical and straightforward, each building up on previous chapters. Upon reading this brief book, the reader will have a much better understanding of Aristotle's thought, as well as an expanded perspective on God, our existence, family, work, and contemplation. While the subject matter is profound, Adler is far from erudite, and this book (as with many of his others that I have read) should prove to be accessible by junior high school students, high school students, college students, and so on. A definite "must read" for everybody.

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