What Makes a Life Significant?

Sissela Bok writer, philiosopher

Louis Menand writer, 2002 Pulitzer Prize

Cornel West professor, Princeton University

James Kloppenberg professor, American history, Harvard University

Philosopher Sissela Bok, Harvard professor Louis Menand, and Princeton professor Cornel West discuss what makes a life significant, in a panel discussion moderated by James Kloppenberg.

A little over a century ago, the Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James gave a public lecture entitled "What Makes a Life Significant?" In honor of the 100th anniversary of his death and to celebrate his enduring influence, this panel of distinguished scholars revisits the question posed in that lecture from a range of historical and contemporary starting points. What do we, in the 21st century, think "makes a life significant"? What can the academy contribute to an exploration of that question?