Alive Quote by Cornel West
“If you've got on the one hand death, dogmatism, domination, and on the other you've got desire in the face of death, dialogue in the face of dogmatism, democracy in the face of domination, then philosophy itself becomes a critical disposition of wrestling with desire in the face of death, wrestling with dialogue in the face of dogmatism, and wrestling with democracy, trying to keep alive a very fragile democratic experiment.”
About This Quote
Source Lecture: The Philosophy of Democracy, 2015
Philosophy must confront mortality, dogma, and power by embracing desire, dialogue, and democratic practice.
In simple terms: Philosophy fights death, dogma, power with desire, talk, democracy.
Key Takeaway
Engage critically with desire, dialogue, and democracy.
Themes
philosophy
democracy
mortality
power
dialogue
Mood
thoughtful
urgent
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- academic debate
- political activism
- public discourse
- education
- policy making
Key Concepts
critical disposition
fragile experiment
wrestling
desire
Questions to Reflect On
- How can desire sustain democratic values?
- What role does dialogue play against dogmatism?
A Different Perspective
May overlook practical constraints of political systems.
![“You can't really move forward until you look back. [From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University]” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/273/cornel-west-708_george-w_you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you_37313.jpg)
