Adler, Felix (professor)

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[[Image:Felix-Adler-Hine.jpeg|thumb|Felix Adler, circa 1913]]
 
[[Image:Felix-Adler-Hine.jpeg|thumb|Felix Adler, circa 1913]]
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'''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.
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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).
  
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'''Felix Adler''' (August 13, 1851–April 24, 1933) was a [[Jewish]] [[rationalist]] [[intellectual]], popular lecturer, [[religious]] [[leader]] and [[social]] [[Reform movement|reformer]] who founded the [[Ethical Culture]] movement.
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== Life ==
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== Chronology ==
 
 
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.
  
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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 [[Cornell University Department of History|Department of History]] as Professor of Oriental Languages and [[Hebrew]] before his "dangerous attitude" caused him to leave.
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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 [[Cornell University Department of History|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.
 
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.
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{{readout||right|250px|Felix Adler founded the [[Society for Ethical Culture]], a nontheistic religious movement}}
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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]].
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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]].
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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]].
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Felix Adler died on April 24, 1933 at the age of 81, in [[New York City]].
  
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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.<ref>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 currently at $30,440 [[USD]] per year [http://www.forbes.com/2007/09/18/education-preschool-kindergarden-biz-cx_lm_0919preschool.html?feed=rss_news]. Despite sharing a building on Central Park West in New York City, the school is no longer affiliated with the Ethical Culture Society. Retrieved October 9, 2008.</ref>  It evolved over time into the [[Ethical Culture Fieldston School]].
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== Tenement house reform ==
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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."
  
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In 1902 Adler was given the chair of political and social ethics at [[Columbia University]], which he held until his death in 1933.
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In 1885, Adler and others created the Tenement House Building Company in order to build "model" tenements that rented for $8&ndash;$14/month. By 1887 six model buildings had actually been erected on the [[Lower East Side, Manhattan|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.
  
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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]].
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== American foreign policy ==
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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.
  
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Adler became the founding chairman of the [[National Child Labor Committee]] in 1904. [[Lewis Hine]] became the committee's photographer in 1908.
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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.
  
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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).
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== Philosophy ==
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While the [[Ethical Culture]] movement which Adler founded was open to people of diverse [[belief]]s, Adler himself developed and promoted his own vision of an essentially [[Kant]]ian [[ethics|moral philosophy]] which prized public work and the use of [[reason]] to develop ultimate ethical standards.
  
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In 1928 Adler became president of the Eastern division of the [[American Philosophical Association]].
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Although Adler recognized the values of [[religion|religious]] and [[spirituality|spiritual]] teachings, he considered adherence to religious [[dogma]]s and [[sectarianism|sectarian]] perspectives harmful to and non-essential to the essence of religiosity, which [[Jesus]], [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[prophet]]s, [[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.
  
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Adler served on the first Executive Board of the [[National Urban League]].
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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:"
  
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== Tenement house reform ==
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<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>
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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."
 
  
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In 1885 Adler and others created the Tenement House Building Company in order to build "model" tenements that rented for $8&ndash;$14/month. By 1887 six model buildings had actually been erected on the [[Lower East Side, Manhattan|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.
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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]].  
  
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== American foreign policy ==
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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.
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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 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 [[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.
+
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]]
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*[[American Civil Liberty Union]]
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*[[American Civil Liberties Union]]
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==Major works==
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* ''Creed and Deed'' (1877)
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* ''The Moral Instruction of Children'' (1892)
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* ''Life and Destiny'' (1905)
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* ''The World Crisis and Its Meaning'' (1915)
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* ''An Ethical Philosophy of Life'' (1918)
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* ''The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal'' (Hibbert lectures at Oxford, 1923).
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==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
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== Philosophy ==
 
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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 [[Kant]]ian moral philosophy which prized public work and the use of reason to develop ultimate ethical standards. 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), ''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. He believed that the concept of a personal god was unnecessary and that the human personality is the central force of religion, that different people's interpretations of religions were to be respected as religious things in themselves.
 
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
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* "Felix Adler" - http://www.transcendentalists.com/felix_adler.htm
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*Adler, Felix. ''The Religion of Duty.'' Forgotten Books, 2012. {{ASIN|B008IST9AI}}
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* "Who Was Felix Adler?" by Sue Berkon, Ethical Culture Fieldston School—http://www.ecfs.org/125/felixadler.asp
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*Adler, Felix. ''The Moral Instruction of Children''. Forgotten Books, 2012. {{ASIN|B008WAJJWA}}
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* "Felix Adler," Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture - http://www.bsec.org/reference/ethicalculture/history/felix.html
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*Adler, Felix. ''An Ethical Philosophy of Life Presented in Its Main Outlines.'' Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006. ISBN 978-1428605220
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* "Ethical Culture Focuses on Creating a Humane World" by Lauren Sloan, Austin Area Interreligious Ministries—http://www.aaimaustin.org/clergy/EthicalCulture.htm
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*Adler, Felix. ''Creed and Deed: a Series of Discourses.'' Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library, 2006. ISBN 978-1425521585
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* "Ethics To Live By: Ideas and Their Action Consequences" - by John Hoad - http://hoad.ethicalmanifold.net/archives/000041.html
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*Adler, Felix. ''Life and Destiny; Or, Thoughts from the Ethical Lectures of Felix Adler.'' Kessinger Publishing, LLC , 2013. ISBN 978-1432636692
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* [http://hfsd.info/overviewhistory.html Humanist History: An Overview] - cites Adler as "The First Humanist in America" and provides additional details.
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*Adler, Felix. ''The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal: Hibbert Lectures Delivered In Manchester College, Oxford May 1923''. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010. ISBN 978-1163192115
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* Answers.com on [http://www.answers.com/topic/ethical-culture-society-for Society for Ethical Culture]
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*Adler, Felix. ''Our Part in this World''. iUniverse, 2008. ISBN 978-0595510313
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* Kraut, Benny. ''From Reform Judaism to Ethical Culture: The Religious Evolution of Felix Adler''. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1979.
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*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
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* 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.
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*Friess, Horace Leland, and Fannia Weingartner. ''Felix Adler and Ethical Culture: Memories and Studies.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1981. ISBN 978-0231051859
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*This article incorporates text from 1914 ''The New Student's Reference Work,'' a document now in the [[public domain]].
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*Friess, Horace Leland. ''The Vision of Felix Adler.'' New York: American Ethical Union, 1951. {{ASIN|B0007I7GQG}}
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*Guttchen, Robert S. ''Felix Adler.'' Twayne's world leaders series. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1974. ISBN 978-0805736502
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*Kraut, Benny. ''From Reform Judaism to Ethical Culture: The Religious Evolution of Felix Adler.'' Cincinnati, OH: Hebrew Union College Press, 1979. {{ASIN|B001C7O7M2}}
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*Radest, Howard B. ''Felix Adler: An Ethical Culture''. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. ISBN 978-0820436821
  
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== Organizations ==
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==External links==
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* [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.
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All links retrieved March 25, 2024.
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* [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.
 
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* [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.
 
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* [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.
 
  
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== Adler's Words ==
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* [http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/felix_adler.html Felix Adler Quotes]
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=== Quotes ===
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*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.
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* [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler Felix Adler - Wikiquote<!-- bot-generated title —>] at en.wikiquote.org
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* [http://www.transcendentalists.com/felix_adler.htm Felix Adler], Transcendentalist.com. Links to various sources.
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* [http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/felix_adler.html Felix Adler Quotes<!-- bot-generated title —>] at www.brainyquote.com
 
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* [http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/felix_adler/ Felix Adler quotes<!-- bot-generated title —>] at en.thinkexist.com
 
  
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=== Addresses ===
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;Organizations
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* [http://aeu.org/library/display_article.php?article_id=1 Founding Address], Felix Adler, May 15, 1876, New York Society for Ethical Culture
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* [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.
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* [http://www.jjnet.com/archives/documents/adleroneaster.htm The Ethical Significance of Easter], 1915.
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* [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.  
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* [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
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* [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.  
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* [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.
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* [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.
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===Reports in New York Times===
 
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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.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=ADVANCED THINKERS.; FELIX ADLER'S LECTURE TO THE SOCIETY FOR ETHICAL CULTURE.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D01E3D61F31EE3ABC4852DFB366838B699FDE
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1880.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=WOMAN SLAVERY.; SOME TERRIBLE PICTURES DRAWN BY PROF. FELIX ADLER.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9401E1DD123BE033A25754C2A9649C94639FD7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1882.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=FELIX ADLER PROTESTS.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=950DEEDD173AE033A25752C3A9679C94699FD7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, letter, 1888.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=MANY BOOKS, ONE LITERATURE; THE BIBLE GOOD AS A TEACHER, SAYS PROF. FELIX ADLER. How the Ethical View Differs from the Orthodox, the Christian, the Jewish, and the Radical—Truth, but Not All Truth, in the Sacred Book, He Says—Opposing Accounts in Different Books—Discrepancies Found in a Single Chapter.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9403E7DA153EEF33A25754C2A9679D94629ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}} address, 1893 - remarks on Adler's popularity.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=JESUS CHRIST AS A TEACHER; LESSONS DRAWN FROM HIS LIFE BY PROF. FELIX ADLER. The Ethics of His Teachings a Deep Well Which Has Been Drawn from for Centuries Without Exhausting It—His Nature as Indicated by His Words—His Life Furnishes for Every One an Inspiration of What a Life Should Be.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02E1DB173EEF33A25752C1A9649D94629ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1893.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=WOMAN'S BENIGN INFLUENCE; ELEMENTARY JUSTICE THAT ALL CAREERS BE OPEN TO HER. Prof. Felix Adler Says that She Should Have Full Sway in the Exercise of Her Talents—To Those Who Are Educated and Competent the Right of Suffrage Should Be Extended—The Place of Woman in History and in the World of To-day.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B02E1D8173EEF33A25751C0A9629C94659ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1894.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=THE QUESTION OF BETTER TENEMENTS; Felix Adler Explains His Suggestion for Municipal Assistance.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9506E6DD1231E033A25750C0A9649D94659ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, 1894.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=ERRORS OF SOCIALISM; Prof. Felix Adler Gives Reasons for Calling It Impracticable. INDIVIDUALITY IS CHECKED, HE SAYS The Apathy of the Prosperous Toward the Poor, He Declares, Has Caused Socialistic Creeds.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D0CE0DA123DE433A2575BC2A9679C94649ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1895.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title="HOLLOW AT THE CORE"; Wrong Will Perish of Itself, Said Prof. Felix Adler. LECTURE ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS His Sunday Discourse at Carnegie Hall Reveals the Ways of Health and Peace for the Young.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E1DA133DE433A25751C2A9629C94649ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1895.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|title=ETHICS FOR THE SCHOOLS; Felix Adler Says that Aimiessness Is the Bane of Our Educational System. NO COMPROMISE OF CREEDS. Formation of Character Prevented by the Absence of Religious Teaching, and the Purpose of All Education Defeated.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07E7D6153CE433A2575AC2A9659C94669ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1895.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=HOUSES FOR THE POOR; Comments on Prof. Felix Adler's Remarks on Past Work. A PROMISE OF A PRACTICAL SCHEME Dr. W.H. Tolman Thinks New-York May Soon Distance the world in Providing Cheap Homes.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E4D71231E033A25755C0A9659C94679ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, 1896.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|title=THE WOMAN IN RELIGION; PROF. FELIX ADLER SAYS HER SPHERE WAS ONCE LARGER. It Should Be Extended Now—Women Are Naturally Revealers, with Deeper Insight into the Mysteries—Especial Fields Should Be Hers.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9903E2D8153CE433A25752C0A9649C94669ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1897.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=TO UNITE TWO RELIGIONS; Prof. Felix Adler, at Carnegie Music Hall, Advocates the Union of Jew and Gentile. ETHICAL CULTURE A MEDIUM National Prerogative of Judaism and the Principle of the Divinity of Christ in the Christian Faith a Bar to Reunion—The Idea of Brotherhood.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0DE5DC153DE633A25755C0A9649D94669ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1897.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=POSTULATES OF RELIGION; Prof. Felix Adler Would Discard Shells of Doctrine and Keep the Moral Truths. BASIS OF ALL IS CONSCIENCE. The Necessity of the Belief in Free Will—Divergence of the Religion of To-day from That of the Past—The Perfect Society.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C01E0D71339E433A2575BC0A9659C94669ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1897.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=INFLUENCES OF RELIGION; Prof. Felix Adler's Address Before the Society for Ethical Culture at Carnegie Hall. DEVELOPMENT OF MORALITY Religious Inspiration in the Fine Arts—The Force That Made for Political Unity—Lessons of the Last Election.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02EFD81330E333A25756C1A9679D94669ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, address, 1897.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=SOURCE OF THE UNIVERSE; Prof. Felix Adler Lectures at Carnegie Music Hall on "The Name of God." ATTRIBUTES OF THE DEITY Infinite Power, Knowledge, and Justice Held to be Incomprehensible to the Mind of Man—The Word "God" a Metaphor.
 
−
|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C07EEDD1431E733A2575BC0A9679D94669ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, address, 1897.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=THE RESOURCES OF SILENCE; Prof. Felix Adler, at Carnegie Music Hall, Gives Instances Where Speech Is Inadequate. MANY THINGS INEXPRESSIBLE Emotions of Richest Spiritual Joy and Profoundest Sorrow Impossible of Depiction by Words—Impulse the Enemy of Morality.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9801E5D61039E433A25754C0A9649C94699ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, address, 1898.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=FELIX ADLER TO MOTHERS.; He Tells How to Judge What Children Should Read and Outlines a Course.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B01E7D71638E433A25756C1A9659C94699ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1898.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=A CRITERION OF PROGRESS; Prof. Felix Adler Addresses the Society for Ethical Culture on Moral Advancement. THE RIGHT INWARD ATTITUDE Persistence of War Passion and Present Economical and Political Conditions Signs that Mankind Lingers on Lower Levels of Civilization.
 
−
|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E3DF1139E433A25752C2A9659C94699ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, 1898.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=FUNCTIONS OF A LEADER; Prof. Felix Adler at Carnegie Hall Declares a New Type Is Needed. THE DUTY OF PUBLIC SERVANTS Difference Between Serving the Public Interest and Being a Tool in the Hands of the People—Theory of False Equality.
 
−
|date=
 
−
|work=[[New York Times]]
 
−
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B06E6DF133CE433A2575BC2A9659C94699ED7CF
 
−
|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, address, 1898.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=MEANING OF TEMPERANCE; Prof. Felix Adler Explains Its Relation to the Spiritual Life, at Carnegie Music Hall. THE DUAL NATURE IN MAN The Senses Properly Exercised Should Be Regarded as the Instruments by Which the Moral Aims of Life May Be Attained.
 
−
|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9807E3D9123CE433A25753C1A9679C94699ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}},address, 1898.
 
−
* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=THE RELIGION OF ACTION; Prof. Felix Adler Talks to the Ethical Society at Carnegie Hall. HIS WINTER'S WORK BEGUN In Some Respects, He Says, This Age Is Not a Good Time for a New Religious or Ethical Movement.
 
−
|date=
 
−
|work=[[New York Times]]
 
−
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990DE7D6103CE433A25754C1A9669D94699ED7CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, address, 1898.
 
−
* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=DR. FELIX ADLER ON RELIGION OF BUDDHA; One of His Series Before the Ethical Culture Society.
 
−
|date=
 
−
|work=[[New York Times]]
 
−
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D06EFDE103DEE32A25757C0A9659C946097D6CF
 
−
|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, address, 1901.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=$10,000 FUND PRESENTED TO DR. FELIX ADLER; Ethical Culture Society Proves Its Gratitude for His Work. Money the Nucleus of a Larger Endowment for Education for Talented Beneficiaries.
 
−
|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9905E3DD1139E733A25756C0A9639C946097D6CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, 1901.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=DR. FELIX ADLER'S CORRECTION.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9406E1DC1E39EF32A25756C0A9679D946097D6CF
 
−
|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, letter, 1901.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=SEPARATION THE CURE FOR MATRIMONIAL WOE; Felix Adler Opposes a Divorce Which Is Permanent. LEAVE CHANCE FOR REUNION Give Tired Couples a Respite, They'll Reunite with Renewed Affection, He Says.
 
−
|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9407E1D9163DE733A25755C1A9679C946497D6CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, address, 1905.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=Ethical Culture Movement Forty Years Old; Dr. Felix Adler, Head of New York Society, Says That It Has Been Kept Alive by Need of the People for New Moral Light
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9502EEDC1439E233A25757C1A9639C946796D6CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, article by Adler, 1916.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=ETHICAL SOCIETY IS FORTY YEARS OLD; Leaders from Other Cities Assemble Here for Anniversary Celebration. PRAISE DR. FELIX ADLER A Sculpture, "The Friendship Group." Unveiled at First Session of Nine Days' Festival.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B00E1D8163BE633A25756C1A9639C946796D6CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, article, 1916.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=Dr. Felix Adler's Advice on How to Look at the Election.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9906E4D8143BE633A25750C0A9679D946796D6CF
 
−
|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, NY Times, 1916.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=DR. FELIX ADLER CRITICISED.; Baptist Ministers Attack His Statement That There Is No Hell.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9906E0D6163AE433A25756C1A9679C946696D6CF
 
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|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
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}}, 1917.
 
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* {{cite news
 
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|author=
 
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|title=FELIX ADLER'S SCHOOL HONORS HIS MEMORY; Ethical Culture Classes Pay Tribute to the Founder on Anniversary of Death.
 
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|date=
 
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|work=[[New York Times]]
 
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|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00713FD3D5B177A93C5AB178FD85F418385F9
 
−
|accessdate=2008-08-09
 
−
}}, 1935.
 
−
* and [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 more letters, articles, and addresses]
 
−
 
 
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=== Books ===
 
−
* 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.
 
−
* 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.
 
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Felix}}
 
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[[Category:Ethical Culture]]
 
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[[Category:Cornell University Department of History faculty]]
 
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[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
 
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[[Category:University of Heidelberg alumni]]
 
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[[Category:German-American Jews]]
 
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[[Category:German immigrants to the United States]]
 
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[[Category:People from Alzey]]
 
  
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[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
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[[Category:philosophy]]
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[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
  
 
{{credits|Felix_Adler_(Society_for_Ethical_Culture)|230896295|Ethical_Culture|232625487}}
 
{{credits|Felix_Adler_(Society_for_Ethical_Culture)|230896295|Ethical_Culture|232625487}}
 +
*This article incorporates text from 1914 ''The New Student's Reference Work,'' a document now in the [[public domain]].

Latest revision as of 01:59, 26 March 2024

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 March 25, 2024.

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.

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