Heritage; Mortimer J. Adler. Part 1: Autobiography

KETC-TV (Television station : Saint Louis, Mo.) · April 23, 1961

Episodes 115 - 118 of Heritage feature Mortimer J. Adler, director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in San Francisco, where he is guiding an extensive program of research in an attempt to organize a topical history of Western philosophy. Host for all four programs is Dean Thomas S. Hall of the College of Liberal Arts of Washington University in St. Louis. Dean Hall also teaches in the college's department of zoology. In this episode, Dr. Adler gives a colorful account of his life, including his studies at Columbia University, his first meeting with Robert M. Hutchins, his work at the University of Chicago, and his present activities as director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in San Francisco. He spends a good deal of time explaining one of his best known and most original works, the Syntopicon that accompanies the Great Books of the Western World series. The Syntopicon (a coined word) contains a brief summarizing essay of each of the 102 ideas and an exhaustive index to every reference to that idea in the fifty-four volumes. Dr. Adler concludes that every person should learn to think for himself about the ideas that affect his manner of life. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) Through "Heritage," a selected group of prominent persons individually address themselves to broad areas of subject matter in fields where they are particularly qualified to speak. Rather than being a simple series of conventional pattern, this is a "series of series," where each guest appears on several episode in several formats (i.e. straight talk, interview, talk with small group, conversation). This series totaling 131 half-hour episodes was originally recorded on various formats including film and videotape. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)