The telephone book is full of facts, but it doesn't contain a single idea. Mortimer Adler More Quotes by Mortimer Adler More Quotes From Mortimer Adler A lecture has been well described as the process whereby the notes of the teacher become the notes of the student without passing through the mind of either. Mortimer Adler lectures mind teacher 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. Mortimer Adler support exercise men Teachers may think they are stuffing minds, but all they are ever affecting is the memory. Nothing can ever be forced into anyone's mind except by brainwashing, which is the very opposite of genuine teaching. Mortimer Adler teaching teacher memories 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. Mortimer Adler skills people years Too many facts are often as much of an obstacle to understanding as too few. There is a sense in which we moderns are inundated with facts to the detriment of understanding. Mortimer Adler obstacles understanding facts If a book is easy and fits nicely into all your language conventions and thought forms, then you probably will not grow much from reading it. It may be entertaining, but not enlarging to your understanding. It’s the hard books that count. Raking is easy, but all you get is leaves; digging is hard, but you might find diamonds. Mortimer Adler understanding reading book Love consists in giving without getting in return; in giving what is not owed, what is not due the other. That's why true love is never based, as associations for utility or pleasure are, on a fair exchange. Mortimer Adler true-love love-is giving Freedom is the emancipation from the arbitrary rule of other men. Mortimer Adler arbitrary liberty men There are genuine mysteries in the world that mark the limits of human knowing and thinking. Wisdom is fortified, not destroyed, by understanding its limitations. Ignorance does not make a fool as surely as self-deception. Mortimer Adler ignorance wisdom thinking 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 Mortimer Adler reading sleep book All genuine learning is active, not passive. Mortimer Adler genuine leadership sports Only hidden and undetected oratory is really insidious. What reaches the heart without going through the mind is likely to bounce back and put the mind out of business. Mortimer Adler oratory mind heart The best protection against propaganda of any sort is the recognition of it for what it is. Only hidden and undetected oratory is really insidious. What reaches the heart without going through the mind is likely to bounce back and put the mind out of business. Propaganda taken in that way is like a drug you do not know you are swallowing. The effect is mysterious; you do not know afterwards why you feel or think the way you do. Mortimer Adler taken heart thinking The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks. Mortimer Adler wisdom philosophy thinking We acknowledge but one motive - to follow the truth as we know it, whithersoever it may lead us; but in our heart of hearts we are well assured that the truth which has made us free, will in the end make us glad also. Mortimer Adler truth heart may If you never ask yourself any questions about the meaning of a passage, you cannot expect the book to give you any insight you do not already possess. Mortimer Adler giving-up insight book Love without conversation is impossible. Mortimer Adler impossible insomnia love It is love rather than sexual lust or unbridled sexuality if, in addition to the need or want involved, there is also some impulse to give pleasure to the persons thus loved and not merely to use them for our own selfish pleasure. Mortimer Adler selfish lust giving We wish the joy of love, the joy of companionship, of being in the company of, in the presence of the person we love, of living a common life with that person, perhaps ultimately the joy of perfect union. Mortimer Adler wish perfect joy Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life. Mortimer Adler reading inspirational life
