Desires, Right & Wrong

Summary

What is “moral” in the modern age? What is truly “ethical”? Adler skillfully separates “real” good from “apparent” good, and shows how excesses—like gluttony, or the lust for power—simply mistake the means for the ends. Drawing on the entire Western philosophical tradition from Plato to Kant, the book tackles some of the thorniest ethical problems facing the world today and suggests approaches that might help solve them. Adler regards happiness not as an experiential state, but as a well-lived life which attains everything that is really good—and affirms Aristotle’s view of the obligations that individuals and societies owe toward justice and love. The book is clear and straightforward, with concrete examples, and is geared toward the lay reader rather than the philosophy student.

About the Author

Mortimer J. Adler (1902–2001) was a highly respected American educator, author, and philosopher. He lived for the longest stretches in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Mateo, and worked for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, The Encyclopedia Britannica, and Adler's own Institute for Philosophical Research.