Syntopicon: An Index to The Great Ideas

Overview

The Syntopicon is a two-volume reference and thematic guide created to accompany the Great Books of the Western World series. Compiled under Mortimer J. Adler's direction and published in 1952, it organizes a large canon of texts around a deliberately chosen set of central concepts called the "Great Ideas." The project aims to make cross-textual, comparative study possible by pointing readers to the passages where leading authors treat each idea.

Purpose and Ambition

The Syntopicon was designed to enable "syntopical reading, " a method of studying a topic across many authors so that the student can see how an idea has been analyzed, debated, and developed. It seeks to convert a library of discrete works into an orchestrated conversation about enduring intellectual themes, helping readers form judgments by confronting differing treatments of the same concept. The aim is both pedagogical and scholarly: to facilitate systematic inquiry without requiring each reader to discover relevant passages by chance.

Organization and Method

The work is arranged alphabetically under 102 headwords, each labeled a "Great Idea." Each entry begins with Adler's definition and an exposition that frames how the idea has been understood historically. Following the discussion, the Syntopicon provides a carefully compiled list of references to passages in the Great Books set where the idea is prominent, together with topical subheadings and cross-references that guide the reader from general treatments to specific arguments.

The 102 Great Ideas

The selection of 102 ideas reflects an attempt to map the core concerns of Western intellectual history: terms like "Being, " "Truth, " "Justice, " "Liberty, " and "The Good" sit alongside more technical or modern concepts such as "Probability" and "Democracy." Each entry is not merely definitional; it is curated to show different senses of a term, historical shifts in meaning, and major controversies. The result is both a conceptual inventory and a reading itinerary that highlights recurrent problems and perennial debates.

How to Use It

Adler's introductory essay on syntopical reading offers a methodical procedure: formulate precise questions, collect relevant passages using the Syntopicon's references, order the material to expose contrasts and continuities, and then work toward synthesis and judgement. The Syntopicon functions as a detailed concordance: the reader moves from Adler's framing to primary texts, comparing authors and extracting arguments. It is optimized for guided study, classroom use, and scholarly comparative work.

Reception and Critique

The Syntopicon was hailed for its scholarly audacity and for providing a practical tool for thematic study across a vast canon. Critics, however, pointed to the editors' influence in selecting and defining the Great Ideas, arguing that choices reflect particular intellectual priorities and cultural biases. Questions about the exclusion of non-Western traditions, the relative weight given to some thinkers, and the sometimes prescriptive character of definitions have shaped subsequent debates about the project's representativeness.

Legacy

The Syntopicon had significant influence on mid-20th-century liberal education and left a lasting imprint on how curricula and anthologies approached thematic study. Its model of organizing knowledge around enduring questions anticipated later interdisciplinary and conceptual approaches in the humanities. While debates about scope and selection continue, the Syntopicon remains a landmark attempt to turn a collection of canonical texts into a sustained, idea-centered conversation.