Mary J. Adler's Influence On Education

Mortimer J. Adler Abstract Mortimer J. Adler was a well-known philosopher who worked with many other great philosophers to come up with ways to enrich the pre-existing curriculum. Many of the ideas that Adler had are still relevant today. Many works on which he focused on are often used in the curriculums. Adler was deeply impacted by the ideas of Aristotle. He also felt that the Perennials philosophy was very important and it held a lot of weight. Adler experienced many critics along the way, as many people believed that what he was teaching was too hard for the average person to understand. Despite this, Adler could create over 400 books within his lifetime, many of which he published himself. In 2001, Adler died at the age of 99.

Mortimer J. Adler The well-known American philosopher, Mortimer J. Adler, is best known for his work as an educator. In addition to having the title as an educator, Adler also worked as an editor …show more content…
In an excerpt from his works Great Ideas from Great Books and Adler’s Philosophical Dictionary, he gives an in-depth description describing his feelings towards education. Adler believed that just using the word “education” was “informative” and too broad” (Adler, 1963). He emphasizes that education does not only have to stem from schools or universities. He explains that many individuals learn with having little schooling. He questions who makes up the definition of an educated human being and answers this questions with the youth as the example. Adler believes that schools are best for doing preparatory work. Adler feels that “liberal arts” are an important skill for students to acquire. The student must continue using their skills “year after year” or else they will not become “generally educated human beings” (Adler, 1963). He believes that the process of becoming a generally educated person will take a long time and in some cases, may even take a