Philosopher, theologian and former presidential candidate Cornel West spoke on intellectual history in a lecture to students in the Structured Liberal Education (SLE) program at Florence Moore Hall (FloMo) on Friday, challenging his audience to develop the courage to think critically.
Hosted in conversation with SLE lecturer and Associate Director Michaela Hulstyn Ph.D. ’16, West’s talk drew on his background in philosophy, referencing Socrates, Friedrich Nietzsche, Immanuel Kant, Frantz Fanon and René Descartes, among other intellectuals featured on the SLE syllabus. Despite voicing appreciation for many of their ideas, West warned students not to “confuse obscurity with profundity” and to think critically about the texts they read.
“I think, therefore I am — René, get off the crack pipe,” said West, critiquing Descartes’ famous cogito argument. “How are you going to think without a language? How are you going to get access to a language? From others.”
Founded in 1973 by Stanford history professor Mark Mancall, SLE is the University’s longest-running introductory program. The program operates as a residential and “liberal arts college” experience: first-year students live and study together in East FloMo. Instead of completing the first-year COLLEGE and PWR requirements, SLE students spend the year focusing their studies on philosophy, religion, literature and film.
A former professor at Harvard, Princeton and Union Theological Seminary, West has written or contributed to more than 20 books. His most famous works include “Race Matters” and “Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism.”
West began by reflecting on the legacy of author and theorist bell hooks ’73, whom he applauded for “courageous intellection grounded in her vocation.” hooks and West co-wrote a series of dialogues called “Breaking Bread: Insurgent Black Intellectual Life” in 1991.
Drawing on hooks’ example, West encouraged students to find a unique voice “just like a blues man and a jazz woman — just like a serious human being.” He described finding one’s voice as a “virtuous way of being in the world,” emphasizing courage as the foundation of virtue.
For SLE student Emma Muller ’28, one of several students who joined West for dinner after the talk, his familiarity with the philosophical canon was inspiring. “He was making connections that I didn’t even think were possible,” she said. “He was using philosophers’ first names and really just bringing their ideas down to earth.”
West ran for president in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, first seeking a nomination from the People’s Party, then the Green Party and finally as an independent candidate. He received 0.05% of the popular vote on election day, with 81,084 votes.
His campaign faced criticism from some leaders of the Democratic Party for accepting help from Republican legal groups and donors, who aimed to split votes away from Joe Biden through West’s presence on the ballot.
He has also appeared in a wide array of films, like the science fiction franchise “The Matrix” and the 2008 documentary “Examined Life,” which profiled contemporary philosophers.
Anna Klein ‘28 appreciated West’s passionate speaking. “He has a voice that you can listen to for hours,” she said. “He basically preached at us.”