Great Books of the Western World (60 vols.)

by Mortimer J. Adler; Aristotle; Plutarch; Ptolemy; Nicolaus Copernicus

and

125 more

Publishers:

Encyclopedia Britannica; Robert P. Gwinn

, 1990

Overview

Imagine: the entirety of the Western canon at your fingertips.

The makers of Encyclopaedia Britannica bring you the Great Books of the Western World. Comprising 60 volumes containing 517 works written by 130 authors, these texts capture the major ideas, stories, and discoveries that shaped Western culture.

The foundational library for a liberal arts education, the Great Books include works of literature, classics, mathematics and natural sciences, history and social sciences, philosophy and religion. From Homer to Hemingway, Aquinas to Nietzsche, and Galileo to Einstein, the classic conversations spanning history now continue in your digital library.

Gain insight into these conversations with the Syntopicon. A guide to the 102 major ideas that define the Western tradition, the Syntopicon is the product of 10 years of research and unites the 517 works in this library. It includes an extensive introduction to each of the 102 ideas and traces their development in history. The Syntopicon also lists every place these ideas are referenced in the Great Books library. In Logos, the Syntopicon integrates directly into the texts themselves. Jump from an idea or sub-idea in the Syntopicon right to the source with a simple click.

Key Features

• Comprises 60 volumes containing 517 works written by 130 authors
• Includes the Syntopicon, a two-volume index of the 102 major ideas that unite the Great Books
• Presents works of literature, philosophy, religion, history, science, and more

Product Details

• Title: Great Books of the Western World
• Editors: Mortimer J. Adler
• Edition: 2nd
• Series: Great Books of the Western World
• Publisher: Encyclopædia Britannica
• Publication Date: 1990
• Volumes: 60
• Pages: 37,764
• Resource Type: Collected Works
• Topic: Literature and the Arts

About Mortimer J. Adler

Mortimer Jerome Adler (December 28, 1902–June 28, 2001) was a philosopher, professor, and editor. He taught the philosophy of law at the University of Chicago, served as director of the Institute for Philosophical Research, and was the chairman and cofounder of the Center for the Study of The Great Ideas. Adler is well-known for his contributions to the Great Books of the Western World series and his advocacy for liberal arts education.

Mortimer Adler was also the author of several books, including How to Read a Book, The Revolution in Education, and Aristotle for Everyone. Adler was the editor of the 10-volume Gateway to the Great Books, director of planning for the 15th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, and served as the chairman of Encyclopædia Britannica’s board of editors.