Despite Boycott by Neoconservatives, Conference on Sidney Hook Pleases Participants By DANNY POSTEL
New York
A hotly anticipated conference on the legacy of Sidney Hook -- boycotted by some neoconservative scholars because of the participation of Cornel West -- proceeded Friday and Saturday with barely a trace of controversy.
Hook (1902-1989) taught philosophy at New York University for more than 40 years. His engagement in high-profile debates about political issues and the fierce polemical style he brought to them earned him a reputation as an intellectual street fighter. While he has been admired by many on the left for his pioneering interpretations of Karl Marx and his creative attempt to synthesize Marxism and the pragmatism of John Dewey, he has long been an icon to many on the right for his strong opposition to Soviet Communism.
The conference, titled "Sidney Hook Reconsidered: A Centennial Celebration," took place at the City University of New York Graduate School and University Center.
John Patrick Diggins, a professor of history at the CUNY Graduate School, and Mr. West, a professor of religion at Princeton University, spoke on a panel titled "Sidney Hook: Between Philosophy and Politics" on Saturday afternoon. The two scholars expressed some disagreements during the session, but the discussion went smoothly, and both men said they were pleased. "I think he's marvelous," Mr. Diggins said after Mr. West's talk, which he described as "stimulating."
Mr. West delivered a highly animated talk, punctuated by impassioned flourishes and detailed references to obscure essays by Hook. Several conference participants described Mr. West's performance as gripping and impressive.
In an interview on Saturday, Mr. West said that when he learned of the neoconservatives' decision to withdraw from the conference, he "thought it was nonsense." "I've enjoyed reading their work, and I thought it would be nice to have some dialogue with them about a major figure," he said. "That's what intellectual life is all about."
Mr. Diggins, who originally planned to pull out of the conference but later reconsidered, said that he was "very glad" that he had participated. He described his original decision to withdraw as a "terrible misunderstanding."
Mr. West said that the conference was "worth every second" and that he had "learned a lot" from it.
Mr. Diggins had decided to withdraw from the conference, he said, not because of Mr. West's political views, but because he sensed that the Princeton professor had abandoned philosophy for popular culture. He feared that Mr. West had become "more interested in hip-hop than in Hegel," he said. Mr. Diggins said he has attended conferences at which Mr. West "veers away from the topic" and thus didn't think it a good idea to have him at the Hook conference.
But his mind was changed, he said, when he read a newspaper article about a class Mr. West is teaching Princeton this fall. That article led him to believe that Mr. West has returned to a more serious interest in philosophy.
Three prominent neconservative scholars who boycotted the conference were Irving Kristol, the co-editor of The Public Interest; Gertrude Himmelfarb, a retired professor of history at the CUNY Graduate School; and Hilton Kramer, editor of The New Criterion.
Mr. Diggins has been identified with this group, and they withdrew from the conference upon learning that Mr. Diggins had decided not to participate. Nonetheless, the CUNY historian said that he is "not at all" a member of that camp.
Mr. Diggins said that he tried to persuade Mr. Kristol and Ms. Himmelfarb to change their minds, too, but was unsuccessful. Neither Mr. Kristol nor Ms. Himmelfarb, who is his wife, could be reached for comment, because of problems with Mr. Kristol's health. Mr. Diggins did not contact Mr. Kramer about reconsidering.
Mr. Kramer said in an interview that he didn't think there would be a "serious discussion" at the conference, since "all the crap hit the fan about the Cornel West stuff." Asked whether it was Mr. West's participation itself that drove him away, Mr. Kramer declined to answer. "I'm not going to discuss that," he said.
"It's inconceivable for me not to come to a conference in honor of Sidney Hook because Cornel West is going to be there," said Nathan Glazer, a sociologist, professor emeritus of Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, and co-editor of The Public Interest, who spoke at the conference on Friday. Mr. Glazer, who was invited by the conference organizers to fill part of the hole left by the withdrawal of the neoconservatives, said that he does not see "any grounds for the degree of disassociation" with the event taken by Mr. Kristol, Ms. Himmelfarb, and Mr. Kramer.
The withdrawal of the neoconservatives from the conference was "most unfortunate," said Stephen M. Cahn, a professor of philosophy at the CUNY Graduate School, who led a session on Hook's educational relevance. Their decision was out of step with Hook's own intellectual ethos, he said. The late philosopher was always eager to engage his critics in debate, Mr. Cahn said.
"I can't understand why anyone would object to Cornel West's participation," said Paul Kurtz, a retired professor of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, who also spoke at the conference. Mr. West, he said, "added an important dimension" to the conference.
Any concern that Mr. West isn't scholarly enough was put to rest by the Princeton professor's "terrifically learned" performance, said Neil Jumonville, a professor of history at Florida State University and a conference participant. On the withdrawal of the neoconservatives, Mr. Jumonville cited a remark Hook once made, that "silence is no answer at all."
Another conference on Sidney Hook will be held on December 1 at New York University and is expected to include some of the neoconservative scholars who withdrew from the CUNY conference. Herbert I. London, a professor of humanities at NYU and president of the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, is organizing the "alternative" gathering at NYU. Some of the participants in the CUNY conference will also speak at the December gathering, among them Robert B. Talisse, an assistant professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. "The more Hook conferences the better," Mr. Talisse said.