The books to be read should not be limited to those written in English.... Instead it should be devoted to the great works of history, biography, philosophy, theology, natural science, social science, and mathematics, as well as the... tradition of Western literature -- in English translation... Its aim should not be a survey of Western civilization, but an effort to understand the basic ideas and issues in Western thought.
Download Image Share on X Share on Facebook

About This Quote

About Mortimer Adler

Mortimer Adler was a 20th-century American philosopher, author and educator. Mortimer Jerome Adler was an American philosopher, educator, encyclopedist, author, and lay theologian. His philosophical work was situated within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. Read more on Wikipedia →

More quotes by Mortimer Adler

“Love without conversation is impossible.”
— Mortimer Adler
Impossible Conversation

“Love can be unselfish, in the sense of being benevolent and generous, without being selfless.”
— Mortimer Adler
Selfless Sense Without

“The love which moves the world, according to common Christian belief, is God's love and the love of God.”
— Mortimer Adler
God World Christian

“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
Life Education Good

“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.”
— Mortimer Adler
Growth Purpose Live

“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
Problems Christian Early
View all quotes by Mortimer Adler →