The time of our lives; the ethics of common sense /
Mortimer J. Adler
- New York : Fordham University Press, c1996
- xvi, 361 pages ; 22 cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
Part one : the common-sense approach to the problem of making a good life for one's self -- Introduction -- How can I make a good life for myself? -- The accidents of fortune and the need to earn a living -- The disposition of one's time -- The five parts of life -- What should one do about earning a living? -- Why strength of character is needed to lead a good life -- Part two : defending common sense against the objections of the philosophers -- The philosophical objections stated -- The end we seek can be ultimate without being terminal -- The significance of the distinction between real and apparent goods -- The obligation to make a good life for one's self -- Relativity to individual and cultural differences -- Oughts can be true -- Real goods make natural rights -- Part three : the ethics of common sense -- The common-sense view philosophically developed: a teleological ethics -- Obligations to self and to others: individual and common goods -- Presuppositions about human nature -- The only moral philosophy that is sound, practical, and undogmatic -- Part four : the present situation in which we find ourselves -- Are there criteria by which we can judge our century and our society? -- Is this a good time to be alive? -- Is ours a good society to be alive in? -- The moral and educational revolution that is needed -- A concluding word about the critics of our century and our society.
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.