The Great Books of the Western Canon, organized by Mortimer J. Adler in the Syntopicon, span 102 enduring ideas—ranging from Truth, Beauty, and Justice to Democracy, Love, and God. These categories trace the intellectual tradition of the West, connecting philosophy, literature, history, science, and theology. Together, they map the recurring questions and principles shaping human thought across centuries.
The Ever-Shifting Sands: Grappling with the Problem of Change and Opposition The world around us is a whirlwind of transformation. From the subtle aging of a beloved photograph to the dramatic metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, change is undeniably fundamental to our experience. Yet, for millennia, philosophers have...
Summary: The Elusive Nature of Time Time, that relentless quantity we measure with clocks and experience with every breath, presents one of the most profound problems at the heart of modern physics. While intuitively we perceive time as a linear, unidirectional flow from past to future, the equations of physics...
The Problem of Space in Astronomy: A Philosophical Odyssey The "Problem of Space in Astronomy" is far more than a mere scientific challenge concerning the vastness of the cosmos; it is a profound philosophical inquiry into the very nature of reality, our perception, and humanity's place...
The Enduring Enigma of Existence: The Problem of Matter and Mechanics A Tangled Web: Defining the Problem Have you ever paused to consider what the world is really made of? And how that "stuff" moves and interacts? This seemingly straightforward question lies at the heart of one of...
The Perennial Problem of Slavery and Liberty: A Philosophical Inquiry The relationship between slavery and liberty stands as one of philosophy's most enduring and vexing problems. At its heart lies a fundamental contradiction: how can humanity, capable of conceiving profound ideals of freedom and individual autonomy, simultaneously justify...
The Unfathomable Expanse: Grappling with the Problem of Infinity in Space For centuries, the human mind has wrestled with the concept of infinity, particularly when applied to the very fabric of our existence: space. Is space truly boundless, extending without limit in every direction, or does it have an edge,...
The Enduring Conundrum: The Problem of Evil (Sin) in the World The existence of suffering, injustice, and moral transgression in a world purportedly governed or created by an all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly benevolent deity presents one of philosophy and theology's most ancient and intractable dilemmas. This is The...
