REVIEW: "Aristotle for all" - complex philosophical ideas in simple words

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Aristotle for All is the work of the American philosopher Mortimer Adler. He wanted to write a book that explains in simple language the ideas of the philosophical school of Aristotle. He succeeded.

Try to explain in simple words what a physical object is. Or who is a person. Philosophy delighted me with precisely this - the opportunity to explain complex things in an accessible form. Although many philosophers have problems with the latter. Their works are aimed at a trained audience who is ready to read huge essays on the classification of physical objects or the immateriality of the mind.

The average person has neither the time nor the desire to figure out such things. Mortimer Adler, author of Aristotle for All, understood this. And he knew how to fix it.

It's hard for me to write this review. I usually read a book, write out and memorize the main points, and then try to express the author's thought within the framework of one article. If, after reading the review, you want to read the book as well, then I succeeded. If not, you need to work harder.

The problem is that Adler acted as an intermediary between the reader and Aristotle. This means that my task is to express the thought of Aristotle, which, as it seems to me, is impossible within the limits of the article. So I'll just tell you what I remember about this book.

Almost every page is riddled with questions that, at first glance, seem trivial. For example:

What makes a plant different from an animal?

This question is not difficult to answer. Animals are not rooted in the ground, they can move and receive nutrients not from the air and earth, but by eating plants or other animals. In addition, animals have sense organs. However, there are a number of plants that, despite the fact that they have no sense organs, are sensitive. And there are animals, such as molluscs, that cannot move and are fixed in one place. Does this mean that the chosen animals are plants and the chosen plants are animals?

Aristotle was able to explain such incidents during his lifetime. And this, think about it, happened almost two and a half thousand years ago.

Adler paid much attention to the explanation of "Politics" - Aristotle's treatise on the role of the state in human life. This work is considered one of the most famous works of the philosopher. In it, he tries to describe the theory of building an ideal society. The size of Politics is four volumes, and Adler managed to collect all the main ideas in several chapters of his book.

This does not mean that he managed to embrace everything. Although the ancient philosophers were verbose and expressed rather floridly, it is impossible to fit four volumes into 50 pages. And to tell the key thoughts is quite. And if these thoughts find a response in your head, only then you will be able to read the Politics.

At the end of the book, Adler compiled a second table of contents, in which the chapters are related to the work of Aristotle. That is, after reading part of the book, you can go to one of the philosopher's essays to find out more.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out who needs this book. It is worth reading to all those who want to understand the foundations of philosophy, but get lost seeing the number and volume of philosophical works. Adler managed to explain Aristotle's ideas in simple language. The book is not fun, but you will definitely not get bored reading it.

Aristotle for All by Mortimer Adler