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Anecdotes Adler
Memorial Service
Remembrances |
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Many of Dr. Adler's books are available through The Radical Academy Bookstore. Books
by Mortimer J.
Adler
The Center for the Study of The Great Ideas Click Here for New & Used College Textbooks at Discount Prices Click
Here for College Education Information & Study
Resources
Bookstore
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Here are some stories told about Dr. Adler. If you have a story to add, please e-mail us and we will consider publishing it here. September 29, 2003 - This anecdote was sent to us via e-mail by Ron Mwangaguhunga: Every year until the years preceding his passing, the students at Saint Johns College played a prank on Dr. Adler as he gave the annual Adler Lecture. In 1993, Dr. Adler gave a lecture on How to think about War and Peace. At the time, the First Persian Gulf War had ended, and the idea of internationalism was very much in vogue, so Dr. Adler's lecture was hugely popular. As he began his lecture, several students mounted the stage and placed a wizard-like cap on the frail but impressive Mortimer Adler, proclaiming him "King of the World." I will never forget the infinite patience and humility that Dr. Adler showed as we, the students, had our little fun. Afterwards he delivered an incredible lecture and a question and answer session that went way into the night. He truly was an aristocrat of nature and, above all, a man with a sense of humor. I miss his passing constantly.
December 12, 1999 - This anecdote was sent to us via e-mail by Roy Amatore: I was a participant for some years in Dr. Adler's great books seminars held at the Knickerbocker Hotel and elsewhere in Chicago. These seminars were the last vestige of the famous "fat man's class" held by Adler and Hutchins at the University of Chicago decades earlier for big shots on the university board and other celebrities . One night I happened to be sitting at the opposite end of the table from the the great pedagogue during a discussion on his (and he says Aristotle's) doctrine of the unity of moral virtue. The doctrine states that the individual moral virtues of courage, temperance, justice and prudence cannot be possessed independently of the others and that virtue is one indivisible habit of choosing aright. Adler argued to the participants that while the individual virtues are analytically distinct, they are in reality inseparable. At that point I confronted Dr. Adler with the first sentence from his chapter on Courage in the Syntopicon, which reads something like, "The great heroes of antiquity have often been intemperate, often unjust, but never have they been cowards." An assertion that ran directly opposite to the position Dr. Adler was advancing at the meeting. The room fell silent, Adler stared back at me for a long moment and then responded abruptly, "I was illiterate when I wrote the Syntopicon." We thank Mr. Amatore for sharing this story with us.
Mark Twain and Mortimer Adler This letter appeared in The Wall Street Journal dated November 15, 1999: MORAL INSTRUCTION IS NOT INDOCTRINATION In regard to your Oct. 25 page-one story "Morality Play": The infusion of morality into public-school classrooms is not a new practice, and, more significantly, it has not always been advocated by those motivated by religious conviction. Famed University of Chicago educator Mortimer Adler, educator, spent the 1930s and 1940s railing against the prevalent teaching style of the time, which he believed lacked moral certainty. He feared that relativism-embracing teachers of the day were creating a generation of students with wish-washy moral fiber. He believed absolute moral standards were needed to be returned to the classroom, and that students needed to be taught these absolute standards. His message is instructive today. I teach an ethics class in a secular boarding school in upstate New York and am consistently shocked at my students' inability to condemn obviously horrific behavior. Adler turns in his grave, I am sure, when my students defend slavery, female genital mutilation and other atrocities that are occurring in the world today with the argument: "Well, it's just the way their culture works." We do not need religion in our classrooms to teach our children to recognize right from wrong. But we cannot be afraid to tell them that some things are never acceptable. If we continue to fear that moral instruction in any form in classrooms is simply a guise for religious indoctrination, we will surely continue to produce morally hollow graduates. As Adler wrote, "When men no longer have confidence that right decisions . . . matters can be rationally arrived at . . . the institutions of democracy are the walls of an empty house which will collapse under the pressure from without because of the vacuum within." Michael Levy Max Weismann immediately contacted Michael Levy, who apologized for his faux pas, and gave his assurance that he will send an appropriate retraction to The Wall Street Journal. This is his letter: Letters to the Editor To: Editor Dear Editor, On Nov. 15, the Journal printed my response to Lisa Miller's Oct. 25 page one story "Morality Play." I wrote that Mortimer Adler "turns in his grave" when my students support relativism. The implication of this statement is, of course, that Mr. Adler is not alive. Unfortunately, this is a greatly exaggerated report of Dr. Adler's death. He is, in fact, alive and well, and at 96 years old, still contributing to the world of philosophy. He is working on another book, one that I anticipate will not only confirm his health, but also avoid cliches as trite as "turns in his grave." I offer my sincerest apologies to Mr. Adler, and I hope he has many years ahead to continue his quest of bringing rigorous philosophy into every person's life. Michael Levy Mr. Levy also sent a letter to Dr. Adler: Dear Dr. Adler, My apologies for any inconvenience caused by my November 15th letter to the editors of the Wall Street Journal. While there is no excuse for poor research, I hope the sentiment of my letter mitigates your opinion of me. I have always been inspired by your writing, and your words jumped immediately to mind as I read Lisa Miller's article last month. Attached is a copy of the letter of correction I sent to the Journal Saturday morning. I am at your service, if there is any other way I can make things right. Sincerely, Michael Levy We at The Radical Academy are all glad that Dr. Adler continues to flourish and further philosophize, and that the news of his demise was greatly exaggerated!
Max Weismann, tells us this story: Dr. Adler always traveled to his lectures in a chauffeur-driven car. One day, while in transit, the chauffeur remarked: "Dr. Adler, I've heard you deliver that lecture about 30 times. I know it by heart and bet I could give it myself." "Well, I'll give you the chance," said Adler. "They don't know me at the next school, so when we get there I'll put on your cap, and you introduce yourself as me and give the lecture." The chauffeur delivered Adler's lecture flawlessly. When he finished, he started to leave, but one of the professors stopped him and asked him a complex question about Aristotle's concept of being and the soul. The chauffeur thought fast. "The solution to that problem is so simple," he said, "I'm surprised you have to ask me. In fact, to show you just how simple it is, I'm going to ask my chauffeur to come up here and answer your question." Bill Moyers reflects on interesting episodes in his life: . . . I could fill a book with examples. One of my favorites happened some years ago after you had broadcast a special I did with Mortimer Adler, the educator and philosopher whose lifelong passion has been to awaken students of any age--16 or 60--to the power of critical thinking. In the two weeks after our program on his book "Aristotle for Everybody," over 12,000 people wrote for the transcript. But the real payoff came in Penn Station a few weeks later. I was traveling with CBS friends who were skeptical when I told them what the response to the series had been. We were waiting for the train and a fellow, rather shabbily-dressed approached us. I thought he was a panhandler looking for a handout. He held his hand out, all right--only to take mine in it, and shake it vigorously. He said, "Mr. Moyers, I want to thank public television for introducing me to Mortimer Adler and Aristotle. With them as friends I'm a very rich man." Mortimer Adler in Hollywood? It may interest some of you to know that in 1937, Mortimer Adler published a book entitled "Art and Prudence: A Study in Practical Philosophy." A major part of that book was devoted to "Cinematics", wherein Dr. Adler adapted the principles of Aristotle's "Poetics" to the art of the motion picture. Several years later, this came to the attention of Will Hays, then President of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. He summoned Dr. Adler to Hollywood to serve as a consultant on an annual retainer that was more than half his salary as Professor at the University of Chicago. He served for five years until Hays retired. Eric Johnston, who succeeded Hays, asked Dr. Adler to stay on for another year to draft his first annual report. When it was released to the press, it was hailed (to Dr. Adler's astonishment) as "the sounding of a new voice in the movie industry." From Max Weismann: A couple of years ago when Dr. Adler moved to Northern California because of his late wife's health, I received this letter from Bill Buckley. I thought you might enjoy it. Dear Mr. Weismann, It is inconceivable that Mortimer Adler will not continue to enlighten the residents of Chicago. On the other hand, you have hogged him for so long, elementary considerations of redistribution entitle Northern California to have the pleasure of his company. Besides which, his ideas and his pedagogy have enlightened us all in every corner of the globe for many decades. Please extend to him my affectionate congratulations. Yours cordially, William F. Buckley, Jr. Click Here for some anecdotes by Nancy Olson, Dr. Adler's former personal secretary Click
Here to see an anecdote about Mortimer
Adler
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