Adler, Felix (professor)

From New World Encyclopedia
(22 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{Images OK}}{{submitted}}{{approved}}{{copyedited}}
 
{{Images OK}}{{submitted}}{{approved}}{{copyedited}}
 +
{{epname|Adler, Felix (professor)}}
 
[[Image:Felix-Adler-Hine.jpeg|thumb|Felix Adler, circa 1913]]
 
[[Image:Felix-Adler-Hine.jpeg|thumb|Felix Adler, circa 1913]]
 
'''Felix Adler''' (August 13, 1851 – April 24, 1933) was a [[Jewish]] [[religion|religious]] [[humanism|humanist]] thinker, [[educator]], and [[social]] [[Reform movement|reformer]] who founded the [[Ethical Culture]] movement.  
 
'''Felix Adler''' (August 13, 1851 – April 24, 1933) was a [[Jewish]] [[religion|religious]] [[humanism|humanist]] thinker, [[educator]], and [[social]] [[Reform movement|reformer]] who founded the [[Ethical Culture]] movement.  
 
+
{{toc}}
 
Adler developed his thoughts based upon [[Kant]]ian ethics and American [[transcendentalism]] developed by [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] and [[Henry David Thoreau]]. Adler found [[ethics]] as the common ground for and at the root of diverse [[religion|religions]], [[spirituality|spiritual]] doctrines, and humanist thoughts. While Adler understood the values of religious teachings, he found adherence to [[dogma]]s and sectarianism non-essential to the teachings of founders and leaders of religions such as [[Jesus]], [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[prophet]]s, [[Buddha]], and others. Adler, thus, developed a non-[[theism|theistic]] religious humanism, and initiated a number of social reforms. He was particularly concerned with education and social conditions of the poor and underrepresented classes of people. He established the Ethical Culture Society which initiated the Visiting Nurse Service, the first free kindergarten for workers, and a number of other projects and programs. Adler also served on the Civil Liberties Bureau, which later became the American Civil Liberties Bureau and then the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU).
 
Adler developed his thoughts based upon [[Kant]]ian ethics and American [[transcendentalism]] developed by [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] and [[Henry David Thoreau]]. Adler found [[ethics]] as the common ground for and at the root of diverse [[religion|religions]], [[spirituality|spiritual]] doctrines, and humanist thoughts. While Adler understood the values of religious teachings, he found adherence to [[dogma]]s and sectarianism non-essential to the teachings of founders and leaders of religions such as [[Jesus]], [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[prophet]]s, [[Buddha]], and others. Adler, thus, developed a non-[[theism|theistic]] religious humanism, and initiated a number of social reforms. He was particularly concerned with education and social conditions of the poor and underrepresented classes of people. He established the Ethical Culture Society which initiated the Visiting Nurse Service, the first free kindergarten for workers, and a number of other projects and programs. Adler also served on the Civil Liberties Bureau, which later became the American Civil Liberties Bureau and then the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU).
  
== Chronology ==
+
== Life ==
 
He was born in [[Alzey]], [[Germany]], the son of a rabbi, [[Samuel Adler (rabbi)|Samuel Adler]]. The  family immigrated to the [[United States]] from Germany when Felix was six years of age on the occasion of his father's receiving an appointment as head [[rabbi]] at [[Congregation Emanu-El of New York|Temple Emanu-El]] in New York.
 
He was born in [[Alzey]], [[Germany]], the son of a rabbi, [[Samuel Adler (rabbi)|Samuel Adler]]. The  family immigrated to the [[United States]] from Germany when Felix was six years of age on the occasion of his father's receiving an appointment as head [[rabbi]] at [[Congregation Emanu-El of New York|Temple Emanu-El]] in New York.
  
Line 11: Line 12:
  
 
He returned to [[New York]] and preached some sermons at the Temple Emanu-El in [[New York City]] where his father was still the head rabbi. He was noted for omitting reference to [[God]] in any of his Sermons, an unorthodox approach which made him suspect by many in the New York Jewish community and ended any thought of him succeeding his father.
 
He returned to [[New York]] and preached some sermons at the Temple Emanu-El in [[New York City]] where his father was still the head rabbi. He was noted for omitting reference to [[God]] in any of his Sermons, an unorthodox approach which made him suspect by many in the New York Jewish community and ended any thought of him succeeding his father.
 +
{{readout||right|250px|Felix Adler founded the [[Society for Ethical Culture]], a nontheistic religious movement}}
 +
Then, at the age of twenty-four, Adler founded the New York [[Society for Ethical Culture]] in 1876. His sermon on May 15, 1876, is considered to be the date on which the religion he called [[Ethical Culture]] was established. His lectures before this society on Sundays in New York were well known and attended, and were routinely reported on in the ''[[New York Times]]''. Adler's belief in deed rather than creed led his society to foster two innovative projects: Visiting Nursing and Free Kindergarten. In 1877, the New York Society of Ethical Culture sponsored Visiting Nursing, where [[nurse]]s, and doctors if necessary, visited the homebound sick in poor districts. This service was eventually incorporated into the New York City [[health system]]. A year later, in 1878, a Free Kindergarten was established as a tuition-free school for working people's children. (Ironically, what began as a free school for the benefit of the poor has become, according to a 2007 [[Forbes]] article, one of the most expensive and exclusive [[preschool]]s in the [[United States]], with tuition in 2007 at $30,440 [[USD]] per year. Despite sharing a building on Central Park West in New York City, the school is no longer affiliated with the Ethical Culture Society.) It evolved over time into the [[Ethical Culture Fieldston School]].
  
Then, at the age of twenty-four, Adler founded the New York [[Society for Ethical Culture]] in 1876. His sermon on May 15, 1876, is considered to be the date on which the religion he called [[Ethical Culture]] was established. His lectures before this society on Sundays in New York were well known and attended, and were routinely reported on in the New York Times. Adler's belief in deed rather than creed led his society to foster two innovative projects: Visiting Nursing and Free Kindergarten. In 1877, the New York Society of Ethical Culture sponsored Visiting Nursing, where [[nurse]]s, and doctors if necessary, visited the homebound sick in poor districts. This service was eventually incorporated into the New York City [[health system]]. A year later, in 1878, a Free Kindergarten was established as a tuition-free school for working people's children. (Ironically, what began as a free school for the benefit of the poor has become, according to a 2007 [[Forbes]] article, one of the most expensive and exclusive [[preschool]]s in the [[United States]], with tuition in 2007 at $30,440 [[USD]] per year. Despite sharing a building on Central Park West in New York City, the school is no longer affiliated with the Ethical Culture Society.) 
+
In 1902, Adler was given the chair of political and social ethics at [[Columbia University]], which he held until his death in 1933. In 1928, Adler became president of the Eastern division of the [[American Philosophical Association]].
 
 
It evolved over time into the [[Ethical Culture Fieldston School]].
 
 
 
In 1902, Adler was given the chair of political and social ethics at [[Columbia University]], which he held until his death in 1933.
 
  
Well known as a lecturer and writer, Adler served as rector for the Ethical Culture School until his death in 1933. Throughout his life he always looked beyond the immediate concerns of [[family]], [[labor]], and [[race]] to the long-term challenge of reconstructing institutions like [[school]]s and [[government]] to promote greater [[justice]] in human relations. Within Adler's [[ethics|ethical philosophy]], cooperation rather than competition remained the higher social [[value]].
+
Adler became the founding chairman of the [[National Child Labor Committee]] in 1904. [[Lewis Hine]] became the committee's photographer in 1908. In 1917, Adler served on the Civil Liberties Bureau, which later became the American Civil Liberties Bureau and then the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU). He also served on the first Executive Board of the [[National Urban League]].  
  
Adler became the founding chairman of the [[National Child Labor Committee]] in 1904. [[Lewis Hine]] became the committee's photographer in 1908.
+
Felix Adler died on April 24, 1933 at the age of 81, in [[New York City]].
 
 
In 1917, Adler served on the Civil Liberties Bureau, which later became the American Civil Liberties Bureau and then the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU).
 
 
 
In 1928, Adler became president of the Eastern division of the [[American Philosophical Association]].
 
 
 
Adler served on the first Executive Board of the [[National Urban League]].
 
  
 
== Tenement house reform ==
 
== Tenement house reform ==
Line 36: Line 29:
 
By the late 1890s, with the increase in international conflicts, Adler switched his concern from domestic issues to the question of American [[foreign policy]]. While some contemporaries viewed the 1898 [[Spanish American War]] as an act to liberate the [[Cuba]]ns from [[Spain|Spanish]] rule, others perceived the U.S. victories in the [[Caribbean]] and the [[Philippines]] as the beginning of an expansionist [[empire]]. Adler at first supported the war but later expressed anxiety about American sovereignty over the Philippines and [[Puerto Rico]], concluding that an [[imperialism|imperialistic]] rather than a [[democracy|democratic]] goal was guiding [[Foreign relations of the United States|U.S. foreign policy]]. Ethical Culture affirms "the supreme worth of the person" and Adler superimposed this tenet on [[international relation]]s, believing that no single group could lay claim to superior institutions and lifestyle.
 
By the late 1890s, with the increase in international conflicts, Adler switched his concern from domestic issues to the question of American [[foreign policy]]. While some contemporaries viewed the 1898 [[Spanish American War]] as an act to liberate the [[Cuba]]ns from [[Spain|Spanish]] rule, others perceived the U.S. victories in the [[Caribbean]] and the [[Philippines]] as the beginning of an expansionist [[empire]]. Adler at first supported the war but later expressed anxiety about American sovereignty over the Philippines and [[Puerto Rico]], concluding that an [[imperialism|imperialistic]] rather than a [[democracy|democratic]] goal was guiding [[Foreign relations of the United States|U.S. foreign policy]]. Ethical Culture affirms "the supreme worth of the person" and Adler superimposed this tenet on [[international relation]]s, believing that no single group could lay claim to superior institutions and lifestyle.
  
Unlike many of his contemporaries during [[World War I]], Adler didn't feel that the defeat of [[Germany]] alone would make the world safe for [[democracy]]. [[Peace]] could only be achieved, he thought, if the representative democratic governments remained non-imperialistic and if the [[arms race]] was curbed. As a result, Adler opposed the [[Versailles Treaty]] and the [[League of Nations]]. As an alternative, Adler proposed a "Parliament of Parliaments" elected by the legislative bodies of the different nations and filled with different classes of people, rather than special interests, so that common and not national differences would prevail.
+
Unlike many of his contemporaries during [[World War I]], Adler didn't feel that the defeat of [[Germany]] alone would make the world safe for [[democracy]]. [[Peace]] could only be achieved, he thought, if the representative democratic governments remained non-imperialistic and if the [[arms race]] was curbed. As a result, Adler opposed the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and the [[League of Nations]]. As an alternative, Adler proposed a "Parliament of Parliaments" elected by the legislative bodies of the different nations and filled with different classes of people, rather than special interests, so that common and not national differences would prevail.
  
 
== Philosophy ==
 
== Philosophy ==
Line 45: Line 38:
 
Adler defined religion not by [[creed]], [[prayer]], and [[dogma]]. Among his various formulations of religion, in ''Creed and Deed,'' he recognized the feeling of "[[sublime]]" as the "root of the religious sentiment" which is "awakened by the mysterious:"
 
Adler defined religion not by [[creed]], [[prayer]], and [[dogma]]. Among his various formulations of religion, in ''Creed and Deed,'' he recognized the feeling of "[[sublime]]" as the "root of the religious sentiment" which is "awakened by the mysterious:"
  
<blockquote>The question returns to us, What is religion? It is not creed; it is not sacrifice; it is not prayer; it is not covered by the dogmas of any special form of belief; it has acted as a controlling force in all ages, in every zone, among all manner of men. Are we devoid of it? Of it? Of what? The feeling which the presence of the Infinite in the thoughts of man awakens within him, is called, the feeling of the sublime.'' The feeling of the sublime is the root of the religious sentiment.'' It assumes various phases, and to these correspond the various religions…. The feeling of the sublime is awakened by the
+
<blockquote>The question returns to us, What is religion? It is not creed; it is not sacrifice; it is not prayer; it is not covered by the dogmas of any special form of belief; it has acted as a controlling force in all ages, in every zone, among all manner of men. Are we devoid of it? Of it? Of what? The feeling which the presence of the Infinite in the thoughts of man awakens within him, is called, the feeling of the sublime. ''The feeling of the sublime is the root of the religious sentiment.'' It assumes various phases, and to these correspond the various religions…. The feeling of the sublime is awakened by the mysterious.<ref>Felix Adler, [http://books.google.com/books?id=JWgAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=felix+adler&ei=K3c-R97hEYa67gKlmqCFBw#PPA38,M1 ''Creed and Deed: A Series of Discourses''] (New York: Pub. for the Society for Ethical Culture, 1880), 38-39. Retrieved October 18, 2013.</ref></blockquote>
mysterious.<ref>Felix Adler, [http://books.google.com/books?id=JWgAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=felix+adler&ei=K3c-R97hEYa67gKlmqCFBw#PPA38,M1 Creed and Deed: A Series of Discourses,] New York: Pub. for the Society for Ethical Culture by G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1880. P. 38-39</ref></blockquote>
 
  
 
Adler found ethical principles to be the foundation of and the universal element in religious thoughts, and developed non-[[theism|theistic]] (in the traditional sense) religious [[humanism]] as the universal foundation for [[social reform]].  
 
Adler found ethical principles to be the foundation of and the universal element in religious thoughts, and developed non-[[theism|theistic]] (in the traditional sense) religious [[humanism]] as the universal foundation for [[social reform]].  
  
Adler published such works as ''Creed and Deed'' (1878), ''Moral Instruction of Children'' (1892), ''Life and Destiny'' (1905), ''The [[Religion]] of [[Duty]]'' (1906), ''Essentials of [[Spirituality]]'' (1908), ''An [[ethics|Ethical]] Philosophy of Life'' (1918), ''The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal'' (1925), and ''Our Part in this World.'' He made use of the ideas from the religion to which he was born, and the philosophies of Kant and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], mixed with certain [[socialist]]ic ideas of his time.
+
Adler published such works as ''Creed and Deed'' (1878), ''Moral Instruction of Children'' (1892), ''Life and Destiny'' (1905), ''The Religion of Duty'' (1906), ''Essentials of Spirituality'' (1908), ''An Ethical Philosophy of Life'' (1918), and ''The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal'' (1925). He made use of the ideas from the religion to which he was born, and the philosophies of Kant and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], mixed with certain [[socialist]]ic ideas of his time.
 +
 
 +
Well known as a lecturer and writer, Adler served as rector for the Ethical Culture School until his death in 1933. Throughout his life he always looked beyond the immediate concerns of [[family]], [[labor]], and [[race]] to the long-term challenge of reconstructing institutions like [[school]]s and [[government]] to promote greater [[justice]] in human relations. Within Adler's [[ethics|ethical philosophy]], cooperation rather than competition remained the higher social [[value]].
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
*[[Ethical culture]]
 
*[[Ethical culture]]
 
*[[American Civil Liberties Union]]
 
*[[American Civil Liberties Union]]
 +
 +
==Major works==
 +
* ''Creed and Deed'' (1877)
 +
* ''The Moral Instruction of Children'' (1892)
 +
* ''Life and Destiny'' (1905)
 +
* ''The World Crisis and Its Meaning'' (1915)
 +
* ''An Ethical Philosophy of Life'' (1918)
 +
* ''The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal'' (Hibbert lectures at Oxford, 1923).
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
Line 60: Line 62:
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
*Adler, Felix, and Leslie Willis Sprague. ''The Religion of Duty.'' New York: McClure, Phillips & Co, 1905.
+
*Adler, Felix. ''The Religion of Duty.'' Forgotten Books, 2012. {{ASIN|B008IST9AI}}
*Adler, Felix.'' An Ethical Philosophy of Life Presented in Its Main Outlines.'' New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1918.
+
*Adler, Felix. ''The Moral Instruction of Children''. Forgotten Books, 2012. {{ASIN|B008WAJJWA}}
*Adler, Felix. ''Creed and Deed: a Series of Discourses.'' New York: Arno Press, 1972.
+
*Adler, Felix. ''An Ethical Philosophy of Life Presented in Its Main Outlines.'' Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006. ISBN 978-1428605220
*Adler, Felix. ''Life and Destiny; Or, Thoughts from the Ethical Lectures of Felix Adler.'' New York: McClure, Phillips & co, 1903.
+
*Adler, Felix. ''Creed and Deed: a Series of Discourses.'' Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library, 2006. ISBN 978-1425521585
*Adler, Felix. ''The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal.'' New York: D. Appleton, 1924.
+
*Adler, Felix. ''Life and Destiny; Or, Thoughts from the Ethical Lectures of Felix Adler.'' Kessinger Publishing, LLC , 2013. ISBN 978-1432636692
*Bridges, Horace James, and Felix Adler. ''Aspects of Ethical Religion; Essays in Honor of Felix Adler on the Fiftieth Anniversary of His Founding of the Ethical Movement, 1876, by His Colleagues.'' Essay index reprint series. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1968.
+
*Adler, Felix. ''The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal: Hibbert Lectures Delivered In Manchester College, Oxford May 1923''. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010. ISBN 978-1163192115
*Friess, Horace Leland, and Fannia Weingartner. ''Felix Adler and Ethical Culture: Memories and Studies.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1981. ISBN 9780231051859.
+
*Adler, Felix. ''Our Part in this World''. iUniverse, 2008. ISBN 978-0595510313
*Friess, Horace Leland. ''The Vision of Felix Adler.'' New York: American Ethical Union, 1951.
+
*Bridges, Horace James (ed.). ''Aspects of Ethical Religion; Essays in Honor of Felix Adler on the Fiftieth Anniversary of His Founding of the Ethical Movement, 1876''. Literary Licensing, LLC, 2013. ISBN 978-1258714734
*Guttchen, Robert S. ''Felix Adler.'' Twayne's world leaders series. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1974. ISBN 9780805736502.
+
*Friess, Horace Leland, and Fannia Weingartner. ''Felix Adler and Ethical Culture: Memories and Studies.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1981. ISBN 978-0231051859
*Kraut, Benny. ''From Reform Judaism to Ethical Culture: The Religious Evolution of Felix Adler.'' Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1979. ISBN 9780878204045.
+
*Friess, Horace Leland. ''The Vision of Felix Adler.'' New York: American Ethical Union, 1951. {{ASIN|B0007I7GQG}}
*Radest, Howard B. "Felix Adler: An Ethical Culture." ''American Liberal Religious Thought,'' vol. 5. New York: P. Lang, 1998.
+
*Guttchen, Robert S. ''Felix Adler.'' Twayne's world leaders series. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1974. ISBN 978-0805736502
 +
*Kraut, Benny. ''From Reform Judaism to Ethical Culture: The Religious Evolution of Felix Adler.'' Cincinnati, OH: Hebrew Union College Press, 1979. {{ASIN|B001C7O7M2}}
 +
*Radest, Howard B. ''Felix Adler: An Ethical Culture''. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. ISBN 978-0820436821
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
All links retrieved October 10, 2008.
+
All links retrieved April 4, 2017.
=== Adler's speeches and works ===
 
=== Quotes ===
 
* [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler Felix Adler - Wikiquote<!-- bot-generated title —>]
 
* [http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/felix_adler.html Felix Adler Quotes<!-- bot-generated title —>]
 
* [http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/felix_adler/ Felix Adler quotes<!-- bot-generated title —>]
 
  
=== Addresses ===
+
* [http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/felix_adler.html Felix Adler Quotes]
* [http://aeu.org/library/display_article.php?article_id=1 Founding Address], Felix Adler, May 15, 1876, New York Society for Ethical Culture
+
*The ''New York Times'' archives contain [http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=Felix+Adler&srchst=p&d=&o=&v=&c=&sort=closest&n=10&dp=0&daterange=period&year1=1851&mon1=09&day1=18&year2=1980&mon2=12&day2=31&frow=10 many reports on addresses given by Felix Adler], as well as numerous letters and articles by or about Adler.
* [http://www.jjnet.com/archives/documents/adleroneaster.htm The Ethical Significance of Easter], 1915.
+
* [http://www.transcendentalists.com/felix_adler.htm Felix Adler], Transcendentalist.com. Links to various sources.
* [http://aeu.org/library/display_article.php?article_id=12 Some Characteristics of the American Ethical Movement], An address delivered in South Place Chapel, London, June 7, 1925
 
* [http://aeu.org/library/display_article.php?article_id=13 On the Occasion of the Fifty-Fifth Anniversary of the founding of the Ethical Movement], May 10, 1931.
 
  
===Reports in New York Times===
+
;Organizations  
The [[New York Times]] archives contain [http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=Felix+Adler&srchst=p&d=&o=&v=&c=&sort=closest&n=10&dp=0&daterange=period&year1=1851&mon1=09&day1=18&year2=1980&mon2=12&day2=31&frow=10 many] reports on addresses given by Felix Adler, as well as numerous letters and articles by or about Adler.
+
* [http://www.aeu.org The American Ethical Union] at www.aeu.org is the website of the American Ethical Union, umbrella organization for the various Ethical Societies in the United States.
 
+
* [http://www.ecfs.org Ethical Culture Fieldston School] at www.ecfs.org is the website of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School that contains much information, some of which is incorporated into this article.  
=== Books ===
+
* [http://www.nysec.org Home: New York Society for Ethical Culture] at www.nysec.org is the website of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, the original Ethical Society founded by Adler.  
* Adler, Felix. [http://books.google.com/books?id=JWgAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=felix+adler&ei=K3c-R97hEYa67gKlmqCFBw ''Creed and Deed: A Series of Discourses''], 243 pages, 1880.
+
* [http://www.ethicalhuman.org Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago] at www.ethicalhuman.org is the website of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago, established 1882 and the second Ethical Society founded by Adler.
* Adler, Felix. [http://books.google.com/books?id=59IZAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=felix+adler&ei=K3c-R97hEYa67gKlmqCFBw ''Life and Destiny''], 141 pages, 1903.
 
* Adler, Felix. [http://books.google.com/books?id=8WEAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=felix+adler&ei=K3c-R97hEYa67gKlmqCFBw ''The Religion of Duty''], 201 pages, 1905.
 
:* [http://aeu.org/library/display_article.php?article_id=11 Chapter Ten: The Essential Difference Between Ethical Societies and The Churches]
 
* Adler, Felix. [http://books.google.com/books?id=9hsEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=felix+adler&ei=K3c-R97hEYa67gKlmqCFBw ''Marriage and Divorce''], 58 pages, 1905.
 
* Adler, Felix. [http://books.google.com/books?id=FzUXAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=felix+adler&ei=K3c-R97hEYa67gKlmqCFBw ''The Moral Instruction of Children''], 278 pages, 1908.
 
* Adler, Felix. [http://books.google.com/books?id=D7h3MFRoljsC&dq=essentials+of+spirituality&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=Z92d6tQ6uF&sig=dnK7v3_OUC-nauQDK72oXNQAXQY ''The Essentials of Spirituality''], 92 pages, 1908.
 
* Adler, Felix. [http://books.google.com/books?id=mqsZAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=felix+adler&ei=K3c-R97hEYa67gKlmqCFBw ''An Ethical Philosophy of Life: Presented in Its Main Outlines''], 380 pages, 1918.
 
:* [http://www.jjnet.com/archives/documents/adleron.htm Chapter III: Emerson] - Adler on Emerson and Emerson's influence on his own development
 
:* [http://www.jjnet.com/archives/documents/ethical.htm Chapter V: The Ideal of the Whole and the Ethical Manifold]
 
:* [http://www.jjnet.com/archives/documents/supreme.htm Chapter VII: The Supreme Ethical Rule: Act So As To Elicit the Best In Others and Thereby In Thy Self]
 
:* [http://www.jjnet.com/archives/documents/religiou.htm Chapter IX: Religious Fellowship as the Culminating Social Institution]
 
* Adler, Felix. [http://www.archive.org/details/incompatibilityi029546mbp Incompatibility In Marriage], 105 pages, 1920.
 
* Adler, Felix. [http://www.archive.org/details/punishmentofchil00adlerich The punishment of children], 38 pages, 1922.
 
* Adler, Felix. ''The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal: Hibbert Lectures Delivered in Manchester College, Oxford, May 1923'', 218 pages.
 
* Adler, Felix, and others. ''Fiftieth Anniversary of the Ethical Movement (1876-1926)'', 1926.
 
* Adler, Felix (Friess, Horace, ed.). ''Our Part in This World'', 1946.
 
* Remsen, Daniel S., [http://www.archive.org/details/postmortemuseofw00remsrich Post-mortem use of wealth, including a consideration of ante-mortem gifts], 1911.
 
:* Section II. Chapter I. Adler, Felix. "Principles Which Should Govern the Making of Bequests for Philanthropic Purposes," p. 89-93.
 
===Other sources===
 
* [http://www.transcendentalists.com/felix_adler.htm Felix Adler], Transcendentalist.com. Links to various sources.
 
* [http://www.ecfs.org/125/felixadler.asp "Who Was Felix Adler?"] by Sue Berkon, Ethical Culture Fieldston School.
 
* [http://www.bsec.org/reference/ethicalculture/history/felix.html "Felix Adler,"] Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
 
* [http://www.aaimaustin.org/clergy/EthicalCulture.htm "Ethical Culture Focuses on Creating a Humane World"] by Lauren Sloan, Austin Area Interreligious Ministries.
 
* [http://hoad.ethicalmanifold.net/archives/000041.html "Ethics To Live By: Ideas and Their Action Consequences"] by John Hoad
 
* [http://hfsd.info/overviewhistory.html Humanist History: An Overview] - cites Adler as "The First Humanist in America" and provides additional details.
 
* Bridges, Horace J., ed. [http://books.google.com/books?id=QlMtYoeUsi0C&dq=fiftieth+anniversary+of+the+ethical+movement&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=5gnk7LnTAB&sig=NN_HvFjdKhPAPunqpVwOCfSffAA#PPP1,M1 ''Aspects of Ethical Religion: Essays in Honor of Felix Adler on the Fiftieth Anniversary of his founding of the Ethical Movement''], 1926.
 
=== Organizations ===
 
* [http://www.aeu.org The American Ethical Union<!-- bot-generated title —>] at www.aeu.org is the website of the American Ethical Union, umbrella organization for the various Ethical Societies in the United States.
 
* [http://www.ecfs.org Ethical Culture Fieldston School<!-- bot-generated title —>] at www.ecfs.org is the website of the [[Ethical Culture Fieldston School]] that contains much information, some of which is incorporated into this article.  
 
* [http://www.nysec.org Home: New York Society for Ethical Culture<!-- bot-generated title —>] at www.nysec.org is the website of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, the original Ethical Society founded by Adler.  
 
* [http://www.ethicalhuman.org Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago<!-- bot-generated title —>] at www.ethicalhuman.org is the website of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago, established 1882 and the second Ethical Society founded by Adler.
 
  
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]

Revision as of 12:59, 21 January 2023

Felix Adler, circa 1913

Felix Adler (August 13, 1851 – April 24, 1933) was a Jewish religious humanist thinker, educator, and social reformer who founded the Ethical Culture movement.

Adler developed his thoughts based upon Kantian ethics and American transcendentalism developed by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Adler found ethics as the common ground for and at the root of diverse religions, spiritual doctrines, and humanist thoughts. While Adler understood the values of religious teachings, he found adherence to dogmas and sectarianism non-essential to the teachings of founders and leaders of religions such as Jesus, Jewish prophets, Buddha, and others. Adler, thus, developed a non-theistic religious humanism, and initiated a number of social reforms. He was particularly concerned with education and social conditions of the poor and underrepresented classes of people. He established the Ethical Culture Society which initiated the Visiting Nurse Service, the first free kindergarten for workers, and a number of other projects and programs. Adler also served on the Civil Liberties Bureau, which later became the American Civil Liberties Bureau and then the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Life

He was born in Alzey, Germany, the son of a rabbi, Samuel Adler. The family immigrated to the United States from Germany when Felix was six years of age on the occasion of his father's receiving an appointment as head rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in New York.

Felix Adler graduated from Columbia University in 1870, and moved to Germany where he received a doctorate from Heidelberg University. Starting in 1874, he spent two years at Cornell University in the Department of History as Professor of Oriental Languages and Hebrew before his "dangerous attitude" caused him to leave.

He returned to New York and preached some sermons at the Temple Emanu-El in New York City where his father was still the head rabbi. He was noted for omitting reference to God in any of his Sermons, an unorthodox approach which made him suspect by many in the New York Jewish community and ended any thought of him succeeding his father.

Did you know?
Felix Adler founded the Society for Ethical Culture, a nontheistic religious movement

Then, at the age of twenty-four, Adler founded the New York Society for Ethical Culture in 1876. His sermon on May 15, 1876, is considered to be the date on which the religion he called Ethical Culture was established. His lectures before this society on Sundays in New York were well known and attended, and were routinely reported on in the New York Times. Adler's belief in deed rather than creed led his society to foster two innovative projects: Visiting Nursing and Free Kindergarten. In 1877, the New York Society of Ethical Culture sponsored Visiting Nursing, where nurses, and doctors if necessary, visited the homebound sick in poor districts. This service was eventually incorporated into the New York City health system. A year later, in 1878, a Free Kindergarten was established as a tuition-free school for working people's children. (Ironically, what began as a free school for the benefit of the poor has become, according to a 2007 Forbes article, one of the most expensive and exclusive preschools in the United States, with tuition in 2007 at $30,440 USD per year. Despite sharing a building on Central Park West in New York City, the school is no longer affiliated with the Ethical Culture Society.) It evolved over time into the Ethical Culture Fieldston School.

In 1902, Adler was given the chair of political and social ethics at Columbia University, which he held until his death in 1933. In 1928, Adler became president of the Eastern division of the American Philosophical Association.

Adler became the founding chairman of the National Child Labor Committee in 1904. Lewis Hine became the committee's photographer in 1908. In 1917, Adler served on the Civil Liberties Bureau, which later became the American Civil Liberties Bureau and then the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He also served on the first Executive Board of the National Urban League.

Felix Adler died on April 24, 1933 at the age of 81, in New York City.

Tenement house reform

As a member of the New York State Tenement House Commission, Adler was concerned not only with overcrowding but also by the increase in contagious disease caused by overcrowding. Though not a proponent of free public housing, Adler spoke out about tenant reform and the rents which he considered exorbitant. Jacob Riis wrote that Adler had "clear incisive questions that went through all subterfuges to the root of things."

In 1885, Adler and others created the Tenement House Building Company in order to build "model" tenements that rented for $8–$14/month. By 1887 six model buildings had actually been erected on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for the sum of $155,000. Even though critics favored restrictive legislation for improving tenement living, the model tenement was a progressive step forward.

American foreign policy

By the late 1890s, with the increase in international conflicts, Adler switched his concern from domestic issues to the question of American foreign policy. While some contemporaries viewed the 1898 Spanish American War as an act to liberate the Cubans from Spanish rule, others perceived the U.S. victories in the Caribbean and the Philippines as the beginning of an expansionist empire. Adler at first supported the war but later expressed anxiety about American sovereignty over the Philippines and Puerto Rico, concluding that an imperialistic rather than a democratic goal was guiding U.S. foreign policy. Ethical Culture affirms "the supreme worth of the person" and Adler superimposed this tenet on international relations, believing that no single group could lay claim to superior institutions and lifestyle.

Unlike many of his contemporaries during World War I, Adler didn't feel that the defeat of Germany alone would make the world safe for democracy. Peace could only be achieved, he thought, if the representative democratic governments remained non-imperialistic and if the arms race was curbed. As a result, Adler opposed the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. As an alternative, Adler proposed a "Parliament of Parliaments" elected by the legislative bodies of the different nations and filled with different classes of people, rather than special interests, so that common and not national differences would prevail.

Philosophy

While the Ethical Culture movement which Adler founded was open to people of diverse beliefs, Adler himself developed and promoted his own vision of an essentially Kantian moral philosophy which prized public work and the use of reason to develop ultimate ethical standards.

Although Adler recognized the values of religious and spiritual teachings, he considered adherence to religious dogmas and sectarian perspectives harmful to and non-essential to the essence of religiosity, which Jesus, Jewish prophets, Buddha, and other religious leaders commonly exhibited in their deeds, teachings, and lives. Adler argued that people's interpretations of religions were to be respected as religious things in themselves.

Adler defined religion not by creed, prayer, and dogma. Among his various formulations of religion, in Creed and Deed, he recognized the feeling of "sublime" as the "root of the religious sentiment" which is "awakened by the mysterious:"

The question returns to us, What is religion? It is not creed; it is not sacrifice; it is not prayer; it is not covered by the dogmas of any special form of belief; it has acted as a controlling force in all ages, in every zone, among all manner of men. Are we devoid of it? Of it? Of what? The feeling which the presence of the Infinite in the thoughts of man awakens within him, is called, the feeling of the sublime. The feeling of the sublime is the root of the religious sentiment. It assumes various phases, and to these correspond the various religions…. The feeling of the sublime is awakened by the mysterious.[1]

Adler found ethical principles to be the foundation of and the universal element in religious thoughts, and developed non-theistic (in the traditional sense) religious humanism as the universal foundation for social reform.

Adler published such works as Creed and Deed (1878), Moral Instruction of Children (1892), Life and Destiny (1905), The Religion of Duty (1906), Essentials of Spirituality (1908), An Ethical Philosophy of Life (1918), and The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal (1925). He made use of the ideas from the religion to which he was born, and the philosophies of Kant and Ralph Waldo Emerson, mixed with certain socialistic ideas of his time.

Well known as a lecturer and writer, Adler served as rector for the Ethical Culture School until his death in 1933. Throughout his life he always looked beyond the immediate concerns of family, labor, and race to the long-term challenge of reconstructing institutions like schools and government to promote greater justice in human relations. Within Adler's ethical philosophy, cooperation rather than competition remained the higher social value.

See also

Major works

  • Creed and Deed (1877)
  • The Moral Instruction of Children (1892)
  • Life and Destiny (1905)
  • The World Crisis and Its Meaning (1915)
  • An Ethical Philosophy of Life (1918)
  • The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal (Hibbert lectures at Oxford, 1923).

Notes

  1. Felix Adler, Creed and Deed: A Series of Discourses (New York: Pub. for the Society for Ethical Culture, 1880), 38-39. Retrieved October 18, 2013.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Adler, Felix. The Religion of Duty. Forgotten Books, 2012. ASIN B008IST9AI
  • Adler, Felix. The Moral Instruction of Children. Forgotten Books, 2012. ASIN B008WAJJWA
  • Adler, Felix. An Ethical Philosophy of Life Presented in Its Main Outlines. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006. ISBN 978-1428605220
  • Adler, Felix. Creed and Deed: a Series of Discourses. Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library, 2006. ISBN 978-1425521585
  • Adler, Felix. Life and Destiny; Or, Thoughts from the Ethical Lectures of Felix Adler. Kessinger Publishing, LLC , 2013. ISBN 978-1432636692
  • Adler, Felix. The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal: Hibbert Lectures Delivered In Manchester College, Oxford May 1923. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010. ISBN 978-1163192115
  • Adler, Felix. Our Part in this World. iUniverse, 2008. ISBN 978-0595510313
  • Bridges, Horace James (ed.). Aspects of Ethical Religion; Essays in Honor of Felix Adler on the Fiftieth Anniversary of His Founding of the Ethical Movement, 1876. Literary Licensing, LLC, 2013. ISBN 978-1258714734
  • Friess, Horace Leland, and Fannia Weingartner. Felix Adler and Ethical Culture: Memories and Studies. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981. ISBN 978-0231051859
  • Friess, Horace Leland. The Vision of Felix Adler. New York: American Ethical Union, 1951. ASIN B0007I7GQG
  • Guttchen, Robert S. Felix Adler. Twayne's world leaders series. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1974. ISBN 978-0805736502
  • Kraut, Benny. From Reform Judaism to Ethical Culture: The Religious Evolution of Felix Adler. Cincinnati, OH: Hebrew Union College Press, 1979. ASIN B001C7O7M2
  • Radest, Howard B. Felix Adler: An Ethical Culture. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. ISBN 978-0820436821

External links

All links retrieved April 4, 2017.

Organizations
  • The American Ethical Union at www.aeu.org is the website of the American Ethical Union, umbrella organization for the various Ethical Societies in the United States.
  • Ethical Culture Fieldston School at www.ecfs.org is the website of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School that contains much information, some of which is incorporated into this article.
  • Home: New York Society for Ethical Culture at www.nysec.org is the website of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, the original Ethical Society founded by Adler.
  • Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago at www.ethicalhuman.org is the website of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago, established 1882 and the second Ethical Society founded by Adler.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

  • This article incorporates text from 1914 The New Student's Reference Work, a document now in the public domain.