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Mortimer Adler Videos
by Max Weismann, Chairman Centre for the Study of the Great Ideas
The story
begins nearly fifty years ago in the
Unbeknownst to most of us, in the years 1953 and 1954 Mortimer Adler hosted a live, half-hour, weekly television series comprised of 52 programs entitled THE GREAT IDEAS. These programs were produced by the Institute for Philosophical Research and were carried as a public service by the American Broadcasting Company, presented by (NET) National Educational Television, the precursor to what is now PBS.
Unfortunately, only Bay-area residents were privileged to see and hear
Dr. Adler deliver these highly instructive and penetrating programs. Were it
not for the forethought of Dr. Adler and his colleagues to film each telecast
(as this was a time before videotape) they would have been lost. Sadly, since
that time, these films have rested undisturbed in the Institute's storage room
in
Then the building that housed the Institute was going to be razed forcing Dr. Adler and his staff to move into the Encyclopaedia Britannica headquarters. Fortunately during this move, these films were found and rescued. I am pleased to report that Dr. Adler has donated these films to the Center as it has been his wish to make these films readily available as inexpensively as possible to you, educational institutions, and the general public.
The happiest ending to this story would be to carry out Dr. Adler's wish and release these programs while at the same time preserving these outstanding examples of our intellectual and educational history. To accomplish this, we conducted a fund-raising campaign to underwrite the cost of restoring and transferring these films to video. We are pleased to announce that the campaign was successful and has provided the necessary funds to produce this video retrospective.
These programs will now make Dr. Adler's work citizens, and particularly to our young people who may not be aware of his important contributions. These half-hour programs are the perfect length for use in your home, office, classrooms, or discussion groups. The fifty-two (52) different program titles on twenty-two (22) video cassettes are listed below.
I cannot begin to convey to you how profound and instructive these programs are. Although television presentation techniques have improved drastically since then, it is the content of these programs that remains timeless and relevant to our world today.
1 SERIES ON ART
The Nature of Art
The Kinds of Art
The Fine Arts
The Goodness of Art
2 BEAUTY
3 CHANGE
4 DEMOCRACY
5 EMOTION
6 FREEDOM
7 GOD
8 GOOD and EVIL
9 SERIES ON GOVERNMENT
The Necessity of Government
The Nature of Government
The Powers of Government
The Forms of Government The Best Government
10 JUSTICE
11 SERIES ON LABOR
The Parts of Life Sleep, Work, Play, Leisure, and
Rest
The Distinction of Work, Play, and Leisure
The Kinds of Work and the Dignity of All Forms of
Labor
Labor and Leisure in Pre-Industrial and Industrial
Societies
Liberal Education in Relation to Labor and Leisure
12 LANGUAGE
13 SERIES ON LAW
The Nature of Law
The Kinds of Law
The Making of Law
The Justice of Law
14 SERIES ON LEARNING
The Nature of Human Learning
Adult Learning
Learning from Books - How to Read a Book
Learning from Discussion - The Art of Conversation
Learning Through Television - How to Watch
Television
15 SERIES ON LOVE
The Nature and Kinds of Love
Love as Friendship A World Without Sex
Sexual or Erotic Love
The Morality of Love
16 SERIES ON MAN
Issue About Man's Nature and Origin
Does Man Differ from Animals in Kind or Degree?
The Darwinian Theory of Man's Origin
The
Answer to
The Practical Consequences of Taking Sides on This
Issue
17 SERIES ON OPINION
The Nature of Opinion
The Difference Between Knowledge and Opinion
Opinion in Relation to Freedom and Government
Controversy, Freedom of Speech, and Majority Rule
18 SERIES ON PHILOSOPHY
The Use of Philosophy
How Philosophy Differs from Science and Religion
Unsolved Problems of Philosophy
The Conditions of Progress in Philosophy
19 PROGRESS
20 PUNISHMENT
21 TRUTH
22 WAR and PEACE
Order the entire set for $495 (less than $10 per program)
An audio version is also available for $195.00
All the videos are available through the Centre for the Study of Great Ideas. The email is: TGIdeas@speedsite.com