Other than sports (my favorite!), a lot of what’s on TV these days are “unscripted” (ha!) shows. (Survivor still survives, and Duck Dynasty may return.) But there are also series, like NCIS or Matlock or any number of FBI somethings.
In the 1940s, movie theaters often showed a “serial” that ran before the feature film. That was where I first saw Batman. Each episode was perhaps 15 minutes long. I kept going back to find out what happened next, which is the question all fiction writers hope you ask.
These days no waiting is necessary. People often “binge watch” serials, like Ted Lasso, stories told in installments. I’ve done some binge watching myself, although I’ve never made it past three shows in one sitting. Does that qualify?
Years ago I stumbled onto a non-fiction series on PBS called Six Great Ideas. I loved it and dutifully tuned in every week to watch Bill Moyers interview Mortimer J. Adler.
The series was based on a book of the same name. Adler was not only the author, the idea of the “great ideas” was at least in part his. Moyers was a terrific interviewer.
An “idea,” it turns out, is something you think about. A “great idea” is one almost everyone thinks about.
According to Adler six of the great ideas impact all of our lives. They are Truth, Goodness and Beauty (ideas we judge by); Liberty, Equality and Justice (ideas we act on).
Discovery
First, a brief note about learning.
At Do Good U, we are in the business of helping people learn how to lead and how to make good moral choices.
Over the years you have helped people learn many things. Some of those people might have been your children. “Put the seat down before you….”
Usually we help other people learn things we have learned. We freely (and sometimes enthusiastically) share what we have learned. Helping people learn is fun, and we all do it. Results, as they say, vary.
But people don’t really learn by being told something. In every case, according to Adler, we learn by discovery. We may discover something on our own (unaided discovery), or we may discover it with the help of someone else (aided discovery).
I can’t teach people how to play golf or tennis, but I can help them discover (learn) how to play. Have you ever had an “Aha! moment?” Of course. You’ve had many, I’m sure. Those are fun!
We love it when we go into a school or company, share some things with people, and watch their faces light up with those “Aha” discoveries.
How do you discover things best? If you can discover (!) that, it will go a long way in helping you discover new things. Some of us discover best by watching a demonstration, some by hearing, some by reading. Most of us learn from experiences — both the pleasurable and the painful kind.
Truth
How many philosophers would it take to define a single word? If the word happened to be “truth,” the number would be uncountable, and that’s the truth!
The definition I — and most people — use is that truth is that which agrees with reality. If I say that in Phoenix, Arizona, the temperature reached or exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit on more than 140 days in 2024, that is true. If I say those days were consecutive days, it is not true.
The second sentence in this section is a joke, it is not the truth in spite of its claim to be.
Today it is popular to say that truth is only “your truth.” Sadly — or perhaps gladly — the world cannot function if people try to live by that definition.
Different people have different beliefs, but truth is simply that which is in accordance with fact or reality. While we get it wrong sometimes (“I thought you were done with the remote.”), truth is not a matter of opinion.
Beauty
Beauty is a great idea, and it was in Adler’s TV series that I discovered two things about beauty. First, I discovered that beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder. Some things are beautiful regardless of what either you or I think of them. That kind of beauty is called “admirable beauty.”
Second, I discovered that I could not define or describe that kind of beauty. I could define what is called “enjoyable beauty.” That is beauty which pleases me upon seeing it, but that is completely subjective (only about me).
Think of something (or someone) that is beautiful. Isn’t that enjoyable?
Thomas Aquinas, a very smart man, defined admirable beauty. He said that the beautiful object has unity, clarity and proportion.
Only he said it in Latin (integritas, claritas, proportio), which makes it sound very wise indeed.
When I discovered the idea of beauty, I discovered all kinds of beautiful things. Chairs, houses, parks, and even people. Some I admired, and many gave me joy.
Goodness
I never thought of goodness as being on equal footing with truth and beauty until I discovered Adler and his work.
Perhaps you have never thought of goodness in such lofty company either. Many have not.
For centuries we have been advised to do good. Is good a matter of opinion? Some have said so, because apparently that is their opinion, and sometimes it is. But not always.
Goodness, like truth and beauty, is often objective. That means it isn’t influenced by feelings or opinions, it is simply good.
I’ll stop waxing philosophic now (thank you for putting up with me) and tie this all together in a way I hope leads you to a discovery.
Truth, goodness, and beauty all have this in common: they give us pleasure, both in receiving them and in sharing them.
To please others, be beautiful (especially on the inside), speak truth, and do good.
Here’s a great idea: Do good. It’s in you. That really is the truth, and it’s beautiful.
A great idea
Other than sports (my favorite!), a lot of what’s on TV these days are “unscripted” (ha!) shows. (Survivor still survives, and Duck Dynasty may return.) But there are also series, like NCIS or Matlock or any number of FBI somethings.
In the 1940s, movie theaters often showed a “serial” that ran before the feature film. That was where I first saw Batman. Each episode was perhaps 15 minutes long. I kept going back to find out what happened next, which is the question all fiction writers hope you ask.
These days no waiting is necessary. People often “binge watch” serials, like Ted Lasso, stories told in installments. I’ve done some binge watching myself, although I’ve never made it past three shows in one sitting. Does that qualify?
Years ago I stumbled onto a non-fiction series on PBS called Six Great Ideas. I loved it and dutifully tuned in every week to watch Bill Moyers interview Mortimer J. Adler.
The series was based on a book of the same name. Adler was not only the author, the idea of the “great ideas” was at least in part his. Moyers was a terrific interviewer.
An “idea,” it turns out, is something you think about. A “great idea” is one almost everyone thinks about.
According to Adler six of the great ideas impact all of our lives. They are Truth, Goodness and Beauty (ideas we judge by); Liberty, Equality and Justice (ideas we act on).
Discovery
First, a brief note about learning.
At Do Good U, we are in the business of helping people learn how to lead and how to make good moral choices.
Over the years you have helped people learn many things. Some of those people might have been your children. “Put the seat down before you….”
Usually we help other people learn things we have learned. We freely (and sometimes enthusiastically) share what we have learned. Helping people learn is fun, and we all do it. Results, as they say, vary.
But people don’t really learn by being told something. In every case, according to Adler, we learn by discovery. We may discover something on our own (unaided discovery), or we may discover it with the help of someone else (aided discovery).
I can’t teach people how to play golf or tennis, but I can help them discover (learn) how to play. Have you ever had an “Aha! moment?” Of course. You’ve had many, I’m sure. Those are fun!
We love it when we go into a school or company, share some things with people, and watch their faces light up with those “Aha” discoveries.
How do you discover things best? If you can discover (!) that, it will go a long way in helping you discover new things. Some of us discover best by watching a demonstration, some by hearing, some by reading. Most of us learn from experiences — both the pleasurable and the painful kind.
Truth
How many philosophers would it take to define a single word? If the word happened to be “truth,” the number would be uncountable, and that’s the truth!
The definition I — and most people — use is that truth is that which agrees with reality. If I say that in Phoenix, Arizona, the temperature reached or exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit on more than 140 days in 2024, that is true. If I say those days were consecutive days, it is not true.
The second sentence in this section is a joke, it is not the truth in spite of its claim to be.
Today it is popular to say that truth is only “your truth.” Sadly — or perhaps gladly — the world cannot function if people try to live by that definition.
Different people have different beliefs, but truth is simply that which is in accordance with fact or reality. While we get it wrong sometimes (“I thought you were done with the remote.”), truth is not a matter of opinion.
Beauty
Beauty is a great idea, and it was in Adler’s TV series that I discovered two things about beauty. First, I discovered that beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder. Some things are beautiful regardless of what either you or I think of them. That kind of beauty is called “admirable beauty.”
Second, I discovered that I could not define or describe that kind of beauty. I could define what is called “enjoyable beauty.” That is beauty which pleases me upon seeing it, but that is completely subjective (only about me).
Think of something (or someone) that is beautiful. Isn’t that enjoyable?
Thomas Aquinas, a very smart man, defined admirable beauty. He said that the beautiful object has unity, clarity and proportion.
Only he said it in Latin (integritas, claritas, proportio), which makes it sound very wise indeed.
When I discovered the idea of beauty, I discovered all kinds of beautiful things. Chairs, houses, parks, and even people. Some I admired, and many gave me joy.
Goodness
I never thought of goodness as being on equal footing with truth and beauty until I discovered Adler and his work.
Perhaps you have never thought of goodness in such lofty company either. Many have not.
For centuries we have been advised to do good. Is good a matter of opinion? Some have said so, because apparently that is their opinion, and sometimes it is. But not always.
Goodness, like truth and beauty, is often objective. That means it isn’t influenced by feelings or opinions, it is simply good.
I’ll stop waxing philosophic now (thank you for putting up with me) and tie this all together in a way I hope leads you to a discovery.
Truth, goodness, and beauty all have this in common: they give us pleasure, both in receiving them and in sharing them.
To please others, be beautiful (especially on the inside), speak truth, and do good.
Here’s a great idea: Do good. It’s in you. That really is the truth, and it’s beautiful.
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