Cornel West on Philosophy and the Funk of Disappointment March 4, 2011

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2011/01/26/Does_Philosophy_Still_Matter

Cornel West argues that philosophy should not be viewed as an instrument to counter disappointment. "Disappointment is a constant companion all the time," says West. "Sorrow is a constant companion for a blues man like me."

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A distinguished panel addresses this question on the occasion of the publication of Professor James Miller's new book, Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche.

Panelists include Simon Critchley, professor of philosophy at The New School for Social Research and author of The Book of Dead Philosophers; Anthony Gottlieb, author of The Dream of Reason, a three-volume history of philosophy; James Miller, professor of political science and chair of the Committee on Liberal Studies at The New School for Social Research; Astra Taylor, independent filmmaker and director of Zizek! and Examined Life: Philosophy Is in the Streets; and Cornel West, author of Race Matters and Class of 1943 Professor at Princeton University. The panel will be moderated by Lewis H. Lapham, editor of Lapham's Quarterly.

This event is presented by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers of the New York Public Library and sponsored by the Committee on Liberal Studies. - The New School

Cornel West is a philosopher, author, critic, and civil rights activist. His works include The Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought, Race Matters, and The African-American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Century.