West, George address truth, honesty, decency in Hauenstein talk

Robert P. George and Cornel West talked about faith, love, truth, honesty, virtue and power during a presentation before a packed house at the Eberhard Center April 2 at the American Conversations season finale, hosted by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. 

West, an outspoken liberal thinker and Princeton professor, presented alongside Robert P. George, who is also a Princeton professor and a noted Catholic conservative who was once called “America’s most influential conservative” by the New York Times.

The pair have been working together for 13 years despite having diametrically opposed views on specific aspects of issues that touch on socioeconomics, race, ethnicity, faith and more. They teach together, present at events around the globe, but are always sure to keep an open mind to their counterpart’s best ideas.

“We’re just a couple of broken vessels who share a common commitment to the pursuit of truth and common wisdom,” George said. 

George said the Hauenstein Center’s mission of engaging extraordinary conversations, rather than encouraging “groupthink” is critical in higher education and the United States today. 

Both parties expressed their respect and understanding of the other throughout the event.

“I don’t see him first and foremost as a conservative thinker and conservative philosopher, I see him as my brother, my friend and someone who has a right to be wrong,” West said jokingly about George. “Not wrong about everything, as we have a common bond in Christianity that we share. We have a whole lot in common and we’re concerned about this experiment in democracy called the U.S.A.” 

George stressed the importance of having a civil discussion on difficult topics rather than seeking to win arguments against people who share different views. 

“We want to have a conversation where everyone involved becomes a little nearer to the truth. Everyone will preach civility, but they don’t practice what they preach. There are deeper things that are needed,” George said. “If you’re going to work in conversation to get at the truth, the people in the conversation must recognize that they are frail, fragile human beings. They have to recognize that each can be wrong about most cherished beliefs, and if in fact one has that attitude and understanding in a deeply appropriated way, then one will develop a virtue of intellectual humility that is critical in truth seeking. Without that, it becomes a lecture, not a conversation. Once that humility is in place, a conversation can begin.

“In an argument, I don’t want to be vindicated, I want the truth. I need to get to the truth. Great thinkers are often their own best critics. It prevents the fall into demagoguery and partisanship.”

West echoed George, saying that “anyone in America who is fundamentally committed to the quest for integrity, honesty, decency and virtue is profoundly countercultural — cutting against the grain.”

The pair touched on topics ranging from recent race issues in Ferguson, Missouri, to why many Christians focus on Easter rather than any other day in Holy Week.

“Americans love to identify with a winner,” West said jokingly about the importance of Easter, “especially when it’s winner-take-all.”

West also said the largest challenge facing people upset with race struggles in Ferguson is to find out how to channel unbridled rage and anger into peaceful action in the image of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders rather than cave to anger and seek revenge. 

West expounded on why the pair chooses to gain understanding from the other through point/counterpoint discussions of often difficult topics and why they continue to present and teach, saying that teaching young people is critical to passing on essential tools of discussion and debate to further advance arguments that aren’t about power or perception of understanding, but rather true mastery and appreciation for a topic.

“We teach to transmit to the younger generation — don’t believe the hype about the obsession with money, status, wealth and power,” West said. “Your fundamental question will always be ‘What does it mean to be human, what kind of human being will you choose to be, and when you make the short move from your mama’s womb to tomb, what will they say at your funeral?’ They’re not going to talk about how much money you made, they’re not going to talk about your trophy spouse, they’re not going to talk about how many hook-ups and connections you made in your life, they’re going to talk about whether this person really was serious about their quest for integrity, honesty, decency and virtue, and we all fall short. Try again, fail again, fail better, as the great Samuel Beckett used to say.”