Art, the Arts, and the Great Ideas

Adler and Robert Hutchins originated the Great Books program at the University of Chicago in the 1940s. Based on readings in classic works of literature and philosophy, Great Books seminars focused on discussions of such ideas as love, war and peace, as well as other concepts outlined by Adler in The Syntopican , an index to what he regarded as the great books of the Western world. Here he offers a defense of the decision to exclude music and painting as additional stimuli for the consideration of enduring ideas. His thesis will be of interest to those who are familiar with Adler's philosophy of liberal education, though it is likely, also, to spur strong disagreement. (July)