Filmmaker Astra Taylor explores Cornel West and Peter Singer’s thoughts on the importance of an “examined life” at this particular historic moment. West explains that the “Socratic imperative of questioning yourself requires courage…It takes more courage to examine the dark corners of your own soul than it does for a soldier to fight on the battlefield.” Singer connects this idea to America’s consumer culture, questioning the moral implications of spending when so many are in need.
A feature-length documentary featuring eight of the most important philosophers of our time (including Judith Butler, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Slavoj Zizek, and others), Examined Life opens February 25 at the IFC Center in NYC with a national roll-out to follow. For more information go to the film’s official website.
–Marissa Colón-Margolies
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Astra TaylorAstra Taylor is cofounder of the Debt Collective and the director of the documentary films What Is Democracy? Zizek! and Examined Life. She has written for The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Baffler, n+1 and other outlets. She is the author of The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age and Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone (Metropolitan Books)