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Mortimer Adler

Mortimer Adler Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Mortimer Adler Quotes

“Thus, in criticizing fiction we must be careful to distinguish those books that satisfy our own particular unconscious needs --- the ones that make us say, 'I like this book, although I don't really know why' --- from those that satisfy the deep unconscious needs of almost everybody. The latter are undoubtedly the great stories, the ones that live on and on for generations and centuries. As long as man is man, they will go on satisfying him, giving him something that he needs to have --- a belief in justice and understanding and the allaying of anxiety. We do not know, we cannot be sure, that the real world is good. But the world of a great story is somehow good. We want to live there as often and as long as we can.”

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Author:Mortimer Adler
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“Emancipation of human labor from economic servitude and exploitation, i.e., from organizations of production in which the conditions of work are determined by a master class who own the means of production, and in which the fruits of work are alienated from workers to the benefit of masters.”

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Author:Mortimer Adler
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“Political democracy cannot flourish under all economic conditions. Democracy requires an economic system which supports the political ideals of liberty and equality for all. Men cannot exercise freedom in the political sphere when they are deprived of it in the economic sphere.”

MenPoliticalPoliticsLibertySupportEconomyDemocracyEconomicConditionsExerciseIdealsLiberalismSpheresDeprivedEconomic SystemsEquality For AllLiberty And Equality
Book:The Capitalist Manifesto
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“The rules for reading yourself to sleep are easier to follow than are the rules for staying awake while reading. Get into bed in a comfortable position, make sure the light is inadequate enough to cause slight eyestrain, choose a book that is either terribly difficult or terribly boring-in any event, one that you do not really care whether you read or not-and you will be asleep in a few minutes. Those who are experts in relaxing with a book do not have to wait for nightfall. A comfortable chair in the library will do any time”

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Book:How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
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“Reading a book should be a conversation between you and the author. Presumably he knows more about the subject than you do; if not, you probably should not be bothering with his book. But understanding is a two-way operation; the learner has to question himself and question the teacher, once he understands what the teacher is saying. Marking a book is literally an expression of your differences or your agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you can pay him.”

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Author:Mortimer Adler
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“There is a strange fact about the human mind, a fact that differentiates the mind sharply from the body. The body is limited in ways that the mind is not. One sign of this is that the body does not continue indefinitely to grow in strength and develop in skill and grace. By the time most people are thirty years old, their bodies are as good as they will ever be; in fact, many persons' bodies have begun to deteriorate by that time. But there is no limit to the amount of growth and development that the mind can sustain. The mind does not stop growing at any particular age.”

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Author:Mortimer Adler
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“Sin is not only manifested in certain acts that are forbidden by divine command. Sin also appears in attitudes and dispositions and feelings. Lust and hate are sins as well as adultery and murder. And, in the traditional Christian view, despair and chronic boredom - unaccompanied by any vicious act - are serious sins. They are expressions of man's separation from God, as the ultimate good, meaning, and end of human existence.”

MenHumansWellsEndsFeelingsChristianCertainHateSinViewsExistenceAttitudeDivineSeriousExpressionDespairUltimateMurderSeparationLustCommandTraditionalBoredomDispositionForbiddenViciousAdulteryHuman Existence
Author:Mortimer Adler
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“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.”

InspirationalMindBodySchoolPurposeGrowthLearningGrowingTeachingPositiveIntellectualAgingSelf EducationTeaching And LearningLife LearningSchool LifeLifelong LearningStudent LearningPurpose Of EducationStudent MotivationInspirational LearningTeachers Learning From StudentsFirst Day Of SchoolLife TeachesLearning And GrowingSchools And TeachersInspiring StudentsGoing Back To SchoolLearning LifeStudent LifeYou Live You LearnLife TeachingContinuing To Learn
Author:Mortimer Adler
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