Time of Our Lives - by Mortimer J Adler (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Is it a good time to be alive? Is ours a good society to be alive in? Is it possible to have a good life in our time? And finally, does a good life consist of having a good time? Are happiness and "a good life" interchangeable? These are the questions that Mortimer Adler addresses himself to.

The heart of the book lies in its conception of the good life for man, which provides the standard for measuring a century, a society, or a culture: for upon that turns the meaning of each man's primary moral right - his right to the pursuit of happiness. The moral philosophy that Dr. Adler expounds in terms of this conception he calls "the ethics of common sense," because it is as a defense and development of the common-sense answer to the question "can I really make a good life for myself?"

From the Back Cover

Is it a good time to be alive? Is ours a good society to be alive in? And finally, does a good life consist of having a good time? Are happiness and a "good life" interchangeable? These are the questions that Mortimer Adler addresses in this book. Carefully, Adler lays the groundwork for a common-sense approach to the problem of making a good life and of evaluating that life in reference to the merits of our present society. Adler offers standards by which we can judge the relative merits of our time against those of previous centuries, other societies and cultures. Adler answers in what ways culture encourages or discourages the individual in his or her efforts to make a good life. Finally, Adler argues for a moral and educational revolution as well as for strenuous efforts to rectify existing injustices by radical social, economic, and political reforms. The heart of the book lies in its conception of the good life, which provides the standard for measuring a century, a society, or a culture: for upon that turns the meaning of each individual's primary moral right - his right to the pursuit of happiness. The moral philosophy that Dr. Adler expounds in terms of this conception he calls "the ethics of common sense" because it is as a defense and development of the common-sense answer to the question "can I really make a good life for myself?"

Review Quotes

Adler lays the groundwork for a common sense approach to the problem of making a good life and evaluating that life in reference to the merits of present society. He offers standards by which to judge the merits of our time against those of previous centuries and other cultures, and shows the ways in which a culture encourages or discourages the individual in his or her efforts to make a good life.-- "--Book News"

About the Author

Mortimer J. Adler was the director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in Chicago and a member of the board of editors of the Encyclopedia Brittanica.