Added: 1 year ago
From: TVsCraigFerguson
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  • I love listening to this guy speak, even when I don't agree with what he is saying. He's such a wordsmith

  • The long lost black brother of Hunter S Thompson. How wonderful the adventures of Hunter and Acosta would have been if Cornel had joined them in that trip to Las Vegas.

  • I swear, this man's words sound like poetry.

  • DR CORNELL WEST MY HERO

  • I have some major philosophical differences with Cornel, but I appreciate his personality and wit.  It'd be fun to drink some cognac and debate philosophy with him. :-)

  • Awesome man

  • I think Cornel is a cool brother. Every statement he made sounds so philosophical.

  • David Hume is like an atheist version of John Locke. Both are School of Empiricism :)

  • Cornel is awesome. I can't think of anyone else of similar intelligence being able to go on a talk show like this, lol.

  • "goodness gracious, its a hand porn easter egg!" did anyone else see that and think WTF???

  • @Blunic RE: Dr. Cornel West not saying "anything substantial": Hearing is an activitity of the ears--listening is an activity of the mind. Listen. Try to live it for just a week and see how substantial it is. Good luck. May we all learn to live this way--Best Wishes for a benevolent and peaceful 2012.

  • Cornel West is adorable when he gets his giggle on.

  • Wow. Just wow. 

  • Why can't all christians be like Mr. West

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  • i love how he's interviewing ferguson.

  • "I think it makes me look delicious."

  • By criticising those who critique Cornel West is to miss West's point entirely. There should absolutely be a dialogue about issues raised about him: quirky, appealing, sellable (the look, commercial books etc). That's his whole point on democracy, its about forever broadening your field of view, forever seeing every point from every angle and critically judging:

    but doing so in a non-egotistic way. By judging as a fully engaged citizen, not as an external righteous observer.

  • @Blunic Fair enough, he's not amazing but i agree with some of what he has said in some interviews.

  • I would love to have dinner with Dr. West!

  • @Blunic He has to dumb down his speak and act in that manner to get the average persons interest.

  • craig ferguson is an excellent interviewer

  • eh one just can't dislike this guy cornel west ... he's just so nice.

  • never has an 11 minute video passed so quickly

  • the uniqueness or lack thereof of his points is irrelevant, so long as his message is pure and understood. he himself says that he aims to continue the mission of MLK, and yet you accuse him of having a 'weird' philosophy? It's based on love, faith, and the questioning of both for the improvement of both. By the way, MLK's message went FAR beyond civil rights, it also included various anti-war speeches, sermons, and so on - and frankly, MLK's approach too was copied..from the bible.

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  • @Deryntia you've got to be kidding, he's a doctor and a princeton professor. authors and similar types are brought into talk shows all the time, particularly good humored late night comedy talk shows.

  • wow imagine that talk on Leno

  • Finally a real talk show appearance. TALKKK. not babble about fucking Nothing.

  • Anyone who doesn't enjoy this video lacks the intelligence to appreciate it.

  • Cornel is the biggest piece of shit 

  • @salihadjic "Cornel is the biggest piece of shit " Sadly, he would still call you "brother" or "sister".

  • @tstruss912

    I ain't no black or a socialist for him to call me brother

  • @salihadjic ahhh...you poor bastard.  It must suck to be so hateful.

  • @tstruss912

    what is so hateful about what i have said. I have stated the facts: West is a socialist, black theologists (nationalist).

    I have no respect for that man whatsoever..

  • @salihadjic Well, differing in ideology is no reason not to respect THE MAN. Why not just disagree with his opinions instead of the man himself? I disagree with 99% of people on one thing or another but I still respect them as individuals. Hating on people never ever brings anything.

  • @tstruss912

    I don't hate him, i strongly disagree with his views opinions, lifestyle, vision of this country and society in general. I have a deep aversion to his political and social activities. I believe he is amongst those divide society on classes and benefit from pitting them on each other. Hamilton once called such policy a "dirty trick".

    There is no reason for me to respect that 3 times married man, neither as a philosopher/activist, nor as a person

  • @salihadjic Fair enough. I'm just tired of all the hate in this country. I used to be one of the worst haters...making people cry and such. Then I came to the conclusion that the elite, both factions, want us to fight. The only way to beat them is to have some civility, as tough as that is sometimes.

  • @salihadjic society divided people by class way b4 Cornell west and will divide people by class long after he's gone.

  • @messiahmedia

    I didn't say that he invented the thing, i am just saying he is one of those who keep this thing going - a populist

  • Recognizing the limitation of intelligence will only push one to learn more. Cornel West is a revolutionary. A champion of peace.

  • Cornel west is very very intelligent..

  • Cornel West reminds me of the guys in the Delfonics. He'd fit right in; doing the moves and singing. Woo!

    Dr. West is a beautiful and precious man.

  • he quoted Auden :) gotta love Dr. West.

  • this video has been edited at 9:35, SOMETHING IMPORTANT THAT CORNEL WEST SAID HAS BEEN CUT OUT.

  • I love Cornel West, but I believe the sign of a highly intelligent person knows there are no limits to intelligence. Maybe I interpreted what he say incorrectly, but I believe he said intelligence has limits according to an intelligent person.

  • @ownagenumba1

    then catch the mason grip he gives him after that statement

    second time ive seen west do that

  • @Deryntia Well he came out of the PRIME of the Civil Rights movement. Plus he said he'd keep living the life that MLK tried to live. It is kind of a natural form of affirmative action. Most of western philosophy (hell all of philosophy) is aristocratic white dudes. Its cool though. I wasn't offended by what you said, i knew what you were getting at. :D :D

  • @Deryntia lol what? Don't matter if he was white, green, yeller, or blue. He is awesome either way.

  • Papery ipod.. haha classic

  • every time Dr. West speaks, I find inspiration.

  • watched this the day it aired, amazing.

  • One of the greatest minds of our time.

  • Kudos to Craig for having Dr West on and on actually having an intelligent conversation. A true representation of what TV can be.

  • cornell west is awesome]

    he was in the matrix movie and shit..

  • After watching this, I think Craig Ferguson would have a really good show if he went the Charlie Rose route instead of trying to be funny.

  • @guyfroml How is he an idiot??

  • One of the most brilliant minds of our time.

  • @mrburrus1

    Cornel West fucking rules!

  • @mrburrus1 cornel well scares the crap out of me

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  • Great interview about faith and spirituality by two very bright people. It's a joy to watch.

  • @Googlieeyestx professor west scored a 185 on an IQ test as a child which is just off the charts

  • is this the same guy who was on Howard Stern?

  • Here we go with the religion debate. Please study Dr. West before you say he's "paradoxical".

  • This guy looks like Lucius Sweet "Paul Weineld" from the Simpsons. ((He was in the boxing episode called "The Homer They Fall"))

  • West is great guy but all these people on here commenting about how smart,intelligent,etc this arguement are out of thier mind.It was hardly that stellar.Besides west contradicts himself anyway.Leaping out on faith whereas religion is leaping out of faith against rational thinking and logic.Thats the difference though,peopple like corenl west speak about god and religion and all that in the public forum without doing anything progressing the line of thought.

  • Craig Ferguson is nervous as FUCK!

  • Dr. West is the voice I follow. I can hear Kierkegaard all in his voice :D.

  • americans are not unspiritual or dumb

  • @rasr21321312312312 .yes they are.The average american is very dumb comapred to other first world countries. All the advances in science,technology,medicine are from a very small minority group of people,a lot of them arent even american.

  • @laudrup90 the reason why i said that is because of this clip. cornel west is some deep guy, and he is an american. i'm not gonna argue, cos i've not been to the us, but i think the proportion of dumb people there is not greater than that of the uk or any place else. i currently live in the uk and there are some dumb motherfuckers here. same goes for russia, where i'm originally from.

  • Oh...if television was half this appealing, I'd be a tv addict!

  • He's really intelligent. I had never heard of him before this.

  • I'm an atheist, yet Dr. West is one of the most inspiring people in my life

  • Please look up on YouTube:

    Dr. Cornel West & Carl Dix On Gay Marriage

    Dr. Cornel West Urged To Run For President By Jeff4Justice

  • Dr. West is really smart i respect him a lot and his influences

  • in a better world, this guy would be heir to MLK. he's absolutely thrilling to watch

  • Driving

  • I want to buy that book so bad haha.

  • PAPERY IPOD LOL

  • "The sign of a highly intelligent person, is to recognize the limits of intelligence."

    "I don't even understand what you're saying"

    God that was awesome.  Craig is so swift.

  • the christian right made jesus a capitalist.

  • "Now I'm a Christian so I think he's wrong, but I like the challenge." "You got to have strong critics."

    I'm a Christian as well, and I have to say Dr. Cornel West has a great attitude. Other Christians should have his mindset. What good is the Christian faith if it can't take a few criticisms. He doesn't cover his ears and is willing to read material from a non-believing philosopher. I love it. Thanks for the upload!

  • i dont know how i would feel if someone were to just throw my book around....

  • Cornel West Gives a whole new meaning to the word Genius.

  • Cornel West is so damn awesome.

  • Love West!!

  • True intellectual in every sense.

  • What a happy looking man...

  • 3:42 craig is a genius. responded without delay.

  • This was a great interview. Cornel West is an intelligemtn person whom I'd like to have a conversation with. Best statement, "It's not about the dogma, it's about the love."

  • It sounds like he is beating around the bush. It looks like Craig is interested in faith, perfect time to mention God and the gospel. But he is only talking about the things of God (which are good, but I don't think anyone would be inclined to repent and seek after God after this interview.) Just my two cents. I love Dr. Cornel West though, he's good people.

  • @Ukrainian11 i think they mean to imply more about love and compassion that you put into and take out of life, and by using religion as a vehicle to do so. rather than promoting the "things of god" and "religion" in the blunt sense that your implying.

  • If only all religious people were like Dr. West.

    These days only religious nutcases that they show on the front page.

    Craig should do another interview with Dr. West without audience, like the one with Stephen Fry.

  • @Geistkampfer well it is a ten minute interview. Craig has previously mentioned that he is a believer in God, there is no reason to try to "convert him" And in the Bible it is said that the best testimony to lead others to faith is by the way you live and how you treat others. This man does not need to preach to make people "repent"

  • this was phenomenal! i think cornel west is amazing! and craig ferguson is wonderful. why doesn't PBS, have a guy like this doing interviews. jay leno, is, an unwatchable, illiterate buffoon. letterman is bright,but, he is too much of a cynical smug bore. pbs, should lose tavis smiley,and especially charlie rose,who is, beyond horrible, and incompetent, as an interviewer.

  • Cornel West is one of the most awesome human beings on the planet. He is a perfect example of open-mindedness.

  • @AaronBurwell19 I have yet to read his books and I take it you have read Dr. West's words?

  • I think this deserves another Peabody.

  • This is Prime Time television.

  • Now THIS is tv

  • @OfficialJabberwocky It's a shame that most people won't realize the importance of west and his mode of thinking, and will at the end resume to their previous state of mind, of the same mind that West condemned: bigotry, inequality, etc.

  • @djamorpheus Although not perfectly flawless intellectually, West's open-minded philosophical demeanor is pleasing, and like you say, in sharp contrast to those who blindly filter the world through a hateful lens. To be racist or masochist or to hate groups of people without reason but the fact that they are different is nonsensical. Imagine you and I were to argue. I get fed up with your words and simply state I hate all words. That's of the same logic as hating all Jews, black people, etc.

  • Dr. West is phenomenal

  • That was very powerful, . . one of the best interviews on the show

  • Cornel is great! Most people may not know that he is a democratic socialist. They would probably pull the plug on him if he started talking politics. I hope he comes back and gets political.

  • OMFG I LOOOOOOOVE CORNEL WEST!!!!

    glad i finally got him to see with craig after seeing him on maher.

  • From 9:00 aprox. on... Goosebumps!! You couds almost feel the silence, the intensity, people listening to him there! Amazing guest!

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  • I smell another Peabody...

  • I'd love to see Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, George Lopez, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien (now, he was definitely capable once) try to have a conversation like this. A lot of the credit goes to all these shows producers, and the people behind the scenes who want a very specific show. Mostly their all hour long commercials, with very tame jokes thrown in that would only offend a prude.

  • The best part of Craigs show has always been the interviews. He doesn't like to promote things, he prefers a real conversation. It all depends on how the guest will act, and sometimes we get a gem of an interview like there is here. Dr. Cornel West even says it in this video, that its Craigs honesty that separates him from others in his profession. He's not afraid of reality, and the whole show is really a satire on present times. Making him easily the most subversive person on late night.

  • Wow...I've seen quite a few interviews by Craig Ferguson. I've always found him "quite good" and very funny. But this is actually a really good interview. He constantly asked the right question, comes with great philosophy AND is funny at the right times.

  • I always thought that's what religion, faith are all about. Perhaps because I'm not religious?

  • He looks like Albert Einstein "lightly toasted" lol

  • really, really excellent

  • I love philosophy. It's a little confusing at first but that's why I like it. It's helps me question and questioning is something I really love to do.

  • what is the last word he says when he's talking about the things most forms of religion have well adjusted to? I get greed and bigotry of course but I've never heard the last one before and I seem to write it wrong because I can't find it in the dictionaries. :D

  • @PsychoWedge avarice, pretty much means greed

  • That was really interesting. I didnt know the man, but under some wacky appearances, he was really wise and had very sound words.

    I'm not religious at all but the way he spoke about faith was inspiring. Maybe because you can relate to the message even if you're not a believer. Peace, compassion and all, they dont belong to religions, they are just human properties, basically.

  • CBS, please have him back for the whole hours...like Desmond Tutu or Steven Fry.

  • They totally should have allowed Dr. West to hog the whole show as a solo guest. Lets hope CBS has learned from this interview and makes that happen on his next appearance. What an amazingly inspiring human being.

  • It's ashame I can't give this clip a two thumbs up.

  • It gives me hope that there are people like Cornel in the world. The world would be a better place If more kids grew up idolizing men and women like him, as opposed to the dreaded Bieber, for example.

  • cornell west makes me want to go to princeton, if only i had the grades

  • I have his book. :) I got the hardback for Christmas last year.

  • there should be an "i love this" button :)

  • Very funny, roflol!! Craig is a genius of comedy

  • I'm sure CBS wouldn't allow him to talk about politics

  • Great interview. I'm going to look for his book.

  • It's rare to see a logic Christian man on TV. The rest of them just shout absurdities like God is the answer to everything!

  • @sweetaliena Jesus is the answer to everything. That is what they SHOULD say.

  • a positive influence....excellent talk between them 2...:) Blessed assurance is the keyword of all this

  • Uhh the Matrix council man/philosopher =P

    Nice interview, too bad the audiende was crap the rest of the show...

  • What a brilliant man.

    Craig and West are a very good match.

  • there are lots of people of faith like cornel west. most of them don't feel the need to shout on TV at people, because they are supposed to lead by example.

  • i'm reading atlas shrugged, and there was an interesting point she made. we wouldn't be civilized people without money. money is just a means to an objective, a tool to reach a goal. money is not the root of evil, it's the obsession with it or the abuse of anything for money that people have thus plamed on currency that's evil

    i love craig because he goes back and forth-he can adapt to any kind of guest on his show

  • I hate Hume. I gave up Philosophy because I couldn't handle him. :P

    I was never that into Philosophy anyway.

  • Sound like anyone we know?

    As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to dispense it.

    Dick Cavett

    Censorship feeds the dirty mind more than the four-letter word itself.

    Dick Cavett

    To label me an intellectual is a misunderstanding of what that is.

    Dick Cavett

  • @1RainDear Just yesterday I was discussing how I found it interesting how similar Craig is to Dick Cavett...the fact that Dick also did stand up comedy.

  • @1RainDear I hate to say it, but everything nowadays is recycled. I have acknowledged the connection between Craig Ferguson and Dick Cavette for a quite a few years (thank TCM for airing old Dick Cavette shows), but that doesn't deter from the fact that Craig Ferguson is one the best late night hosts out there.

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  • What late show wars? I picked my winner several years ago. Silliness punctuated by intelligent discussion. I love it. Dr. West capped an awesome week.

  • CBS Sunday Morning just did a story about the former talk show host Dick Cavett. Cavett was equally comfortable with rock and pop star as well as the top intellectual of the time. He was/is a very literate and intelligent comedian. On the Sunday Morning Show, it was stated that they (networks?) would not do that type show today. Everyone in the room with me said the same thing – Freguson! (If they will let him!)

  • what an interesting interview......even though Craig didn't dumb it down -- it is still accessible to people who may not follow the type of issues they were talking about.

  • Yeah, this was a really good interview.

  • i reckon CF is under rated such a fantastic talk show host, and his guests arent just a bunch of celebrities you get all sorts of people

  • This was a really good interview! Dr. West has some very interesting and inspiring comments on life.

  • it's people like this, and Stephen Fry and Bishop Desmond Tutu of course, who make Craig's show the brilliant piece of entertainment it is.

  • Such a lovely interview. Have to admit that was well played by Craiggyboy.

  • He is right about Hume. Read another great scot, Adam Smith, for the greatest treatise ever written about capitalism; The Wealth of Nations.

  • Cornel West is a professor for religion and African American studies at Princeton University, and was previously a professor at Harvard. He is a world authority on his area of expertise, and it is quite refreshing to see how unassuming his demeanor is.

  • What a great interview, truly inspiring...

  • I was slightly skeptical when this guy walked out, as I'd never heard of him and he looks a little... well, weird. But this man is fucking awesome, and interviewing him shows how adaptive and intelligent Craig actually is. For real, though, this guy is INTENSE, and I really enjoyed this interview.

  • It is amazing how Craig can shift from the funnyman to the intellicual man. I was fascinated by this interview. Great show Craig.

  • Amen

  • How could Craig have a blues man on the show and not offer him a mouth organ. Come on!

  • Dr. West is a regular on Bill Maher's show, which I regularly watch. He is a wonderfully big hearted and intelligent man.

  • Nice discussion, the audience was quiet too, so very little padding. These are the sort of interviews where CF shines.

  • This was by far, the best talk show interview I've ever seen. I enjoy Craig Ferguson and I've always loved listening to Dr. West at any chance I get. I applaud you on a good show Craig.

  • Such an amazing interview! There's so much more to Craig than penis jokes and cussing and he's a brilliant man with so much potential. You can see that he's genuinly interested in what Dr West has to say and I'd love to see more interviews like this.

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  • I think i'm gonna watch this again and again and again...I dont know who Dr Cornel West is but i wanna learn more about him.Great interview.