Examined Life: Excursions with Contemporary Thinkers

In this companion book to Astra Taylor´s 2008 documentary of the same title, she talks with some of today´s most incisive and original philosophical minds in settings which are reflective of the topic of the discussion. This creates wonderfully irreverent moments of both insight and delight, as Slavoj Zizek dissects the problems of the conservation movement while walking through a garbage dump, and Peter Singer rails against our consumer mentality amidst the pulsing neon signs of Times Square. While these visuals are inherently captured more fully by Taylor´s film, the book allows her to present more complete versions of her conversations, allowing pre-eminent thinkers such as Cornel West and Martha Nussbaum the freedom to digress and mentally meander through a bountiful array of fascinating topics.