Six Great Ideas: Truth, Goodness, Beauty, Liberty, Equality, Justice: Ideas We Judge By, Ideas We Act on

Adler is great at relaying difficult philosophical truths to contemporary audiences with little to no background in philosophy. The philosophical positions accurately put forth in this book are those of Aristotle and the classical realist tradition. A truly valuable and important work.

The philosophical divide in our culture has never been so apparent as simply reading the reviews of this book. Some fault Adler for references to ethics - as if morality had no place in philosophical thought. Others fault him for using common sense (as if that were a crime) and speaking in everyday language. Others thought he was grand because he is a deist. Adler has written other books, better books, but one thing I like about all his books is their knack for inviting cogent comment and discussion. If only for that reason, they are important works that should be at least perused. Adler has offered radical plans for education and educators - a concrete program few have tried. The heart of this program is getting children to think, challenging their common assumptions and making them think why they think the way they do. But to Adler this does not mean imbuing them with a political revolutionary zeal for "change". It means questioning their assumptions and defining what is important. With that in mind he wrote "Six Great Ideas", some of which are interrelated. To some, these ideas are dated but what he makes clear is that all six of these are universals and, because of their relationship to people, always will be.For a better discussion of ideas get his 101 Great Ideas.

This is a "must, " for anyone who wants to think! Noone should graduate college without reading it.

This book was assigned to me in college (1995), and I concider it the most valuable book I've have ever purchased. The six ideas have proved to be an excellent philosophical base from which sound conclusions can be made regarding today's confusing, and sometimes convoluted, issues. Alder's six ideas have changed the way I view every aspect of my life. This is a "must read" text! P.S. This book is not offensive to those of us who have faith or believe in God.

This book changed my life. Many people nowadays think that philosophy is an ivory tower excercise. It is not. And it is not impractical. This book had a profound impact on my thinking. It is very reasonable philosophy that led me to hunger for the nobler things in life. I highly suggest this book, especially to those who have never learned philosophy or have only learned philosophy from rationalists on.