The Great Ideas

Mortimer Adler proposes one way to organize the Great Conversation: by means of the Great Ideas. I have sitting on my bookshelf, within arm’s reach, a tome of almost a thousand BIG pages in which Adler presents 102 essays under such headings as God, Justice, Love, and World.

Some time back I organized the Great Ideas in a way that made sense to me. By “organized” I mean I put them in an order where each concept could be seen as building on the preceding one. On this blog we could discuss both if proceeding by means of “great ideas” makes sense and is useful and whether putting the ideas in some logical sequence, with this one as a starting point, is worth talking about:

“Every one of the Great Ideas is an important adventure.” –from the preface to Adler’s How to Think about the Great Ideas. (underlined=one of Adler’s Great Ideas; italicized=discussed in Adler’s philosophic dictionary)

Idea concept, cognition, thought; proposition, judgment, principle

Language naming, words, terms, definition, sign and symbol

Thinking questioning, asking and answering questions, reflective thinking, problem-solving, theory, hypothesis, evidence, dialectic

Reasoning logic, induction, deduction; terms + propositions + syllogisms=movement, premises + conclusions; vs. intuition

Knowledge epistemology, facts, information, certainty; vs. belief, opinion, probability; vs. doubt, skepticism; vs. ignorance

Meaning hermeneutics, understanding, significance, interpretation

Truth reality; vs. error, falsehood, taste

Wisdom philosophy, balance, harmony, insight, vision, perspective, self-control/discipline, repose, foresight [sound judgment based on experience]; vs. folly, stupidity

Values good and evil, absolute and relative, excellence and mediocrity, mature and immature?, productive and non-productive?, decent and indecent? (value judgments, value conflicts)

Ethics I:

LOVE caring, kindness, helpfulness, good will, empathy, prizing, affection, attachment, self-sacrifice, altruism

Nurturing growth, development, fulfillment, potential, identity

Peace nonviolence, force; vs. war*

Justice fairness, equality; vs. mercy

Ethics II: morality, virtue and vice, right and wrong, ends and means, same and other, generosity and greed, philanthropy and exploitation, benevolence and oppression, decency and cruelty; duty, prudence, selfishness, arrogance, decisionmaking, conscience, habit (893)? choice? will?

War* violence, hostility, hate, revenge, conflict, the military

Liberty/Freedom autonomy, self-discipline, temperance; vs. slavery, tyranny, coercion and duress

Power desire, intension, authority, privilege, prestige, status, cause-effect, manipulation?

Heroism greatness, courage, honorableness, genius? prowess? mastery? “instinct of workmanship”; vs. frailty?

Leadership influence, vision, inspiration?

Law rights, crime, delinquency, punishment, sanctions, order

Society culture, civilization, community, fashion, custom and convention, patriarchy, class, common good, cities, urban planning

Community connectedness, alienation

The State government, constitution, politics, administration, citizen, oligarchy, monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, totalitarianism, anarchy, revolution, civil disobedience, patriotism, nationalism

Honor fame, reputation

Trade business, commerce, money, The Market

Capitalism and Socialism (private) property, wealth, poverty, slavery, fascism, communism

Labor/Work career, hardship, stress, unions, leisure

Leisure entertainment, play, games, sports, humor, renewal, relaxation

Prejudice racism, colonialism, stereotypes, superstition

Communication rhetoric

Family romance, marriage, parenting, motherhood, fatherhood

Friendship fraternity, “brotherhood,” solidarity, loyalty, trust

Sexuality eros, gender

Science hypothesis, element, system, astronomy, physics, experiment, proof et al

Social Science history, psychology, economics, et al

Technology mechanics, machine

Literature texts, books, reading, criticism, poetry

Imagination creativity, flow, fantasy, visualizing

The Arts painting, film, architecture

\Beauty form

Education learning, pedagogy, reading and writing

The Universe/Cosmos infinity, space, time, order vs. chaos, one and many

The World matter, energy

Nature animal

Evolution progress, change, competition

“Man”/Human Nature experience, instinct, reason, attitudes, attitude change, will, habit, attribution theory, motivation, aggression, pleasure and pain, sense, identity, vanity, narc injuryàrage; curiosity, attitudes. escapism?

Soul spirit

Mind consciousness, awareness, memory and imagination

The Unconscious the unknown, masks, defenses, secrets

Madness insanity, mental illness

Purpose teleology

The Future

Health medicine

Emotion happiness, fear, joy, despair, depression, jealousy, revenge, et al

The Holy God, The Divine, Harmony/Union, the Spirit, contemplation

Immortality loss, grief, hope, eternity

(Life and) Death

Religion faith, spirituality, metaphysics, mysticism, revelation, sin, salvation/savior, forgiveness, angels, cults, prophecy, magic, dogmatism, piety, worship

Mythology inspiration, trickery

Fate destiny, chance

It seems to me we talk to each other about these ideas in one of two ways: by means of stories or statements—I want to say philosophical statements, in the sense that we pay close attention to the language because the meaning of our terms is especially important. Can we fit both the impact stories have on us and our attempts to use language precisely in order to manage our world well into the categories above?