Appiah Cosmopolitanism Summary

Humankind would be a better place if we were all just citizens of the world. In Martha Nussbaum’s “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism” she argues whether children should be taught in education to be patriotic or cosmopolitan. Nussbaum’s definition of cosmopolitanism is a person whose primary allegiance is to the community of human beings in the entire world. Nussbaum begins her argument by raising questions about education and how students ought to be taught that hunger in third world countries are problems of global problems and not the countries problem. She says “We should regard out deliberations as, first and foremost, deliberations about human problems of people in particular concrete situations, not problems growing out of a national

Appiah defines Cosmopolitanism as being conscious that every citizen that belongs to a community among other communities. The writer wanted to remind the reader the value being of conscious that we are part of a bigger community. Appiah main idea in his work was to start having conversations that discuss cultures, beliefs and values to expand our knowledge about other cultures and not having the excuse of marking another culture’s belief right or wrong. He argues that by using Cosmopolitanism we can create a more united community.

The world’s population is continuously increasing and laws are being made to maintain a global social order. The social order includes, and is not limited to, world peace, free international economy, international trade, and assurance that basic human rights are respected by all nations and humans live a decent life, full of opportunities. This is an ideal that we all aspire to, in a way or another and although we want to create a perfect world, it is impossible to do so because of people’s interests and their own view of “perfection.” We, as humans, are not perfect, and therefore we cannot have a perfect world. Many have tried to create ideas of what would make a perfect society. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle have diligently tried for centuries to establish a well-balanced world in which each individual has their own freedom. More than two thousand years have passed since then and the world is still struggling to find a way to create a harmonious international society. Cosmopolitanism and anti-cosmopolitanism have different ideas on how we can achieve this goal. To me, a combination of the two sounds more achievable. In this paper, I will try to demonstrate that today’s world is a combination of the two and ideas from both will take us a few steps forward towards an international goal.

2. Cosmopolitanism is the view that every single person are world natives (Greek, kosmopolitês) with obligations that stretch out past national fringes. Given the different way of the worldwide town, resilience and comprehension are the axioms. Supporters of cosmopolitanism, going back to the Stoics and Cynics of traditional artifact and in addition to Judaism

Another argument Appiah makes is for the liberties and freedoms that are entitled to us as individuals, an idea supported by cosmopolitans. In “A Case for Contamination”, he mentions the Unesco document for which its members’ priority was to protect and promote cultural diversity while shielding it from globalization. However, as Appiah points out the document is a paradox for it carefully upholds the significance of new ideas, human rights and values, and the freedom of thought and expression. Individuals should be able to make their own decisions based on their moral convictions and desires, isn’t that what freedom is? Shouldn’t societies operate with a moral compass, too? It should be in their best interest to take into account their members

Appiah’s thesis is about a homogeneous uniformity between an individual’s culture and his /her community. Appiah talks about the cosmopolitanism, the way cultures interact on a daily basis. He focuses on three main interrelated issues globalization, cultural diversity, and ethical consideration.

While cosmopolitanism can be viewed as a concise concept, it can also be viewed to have two different strands. The first strand, as Appiah explains, focuses on the obligations we have to one another as universal citizens of the cosmos; obligations that stretch beyond family or local community. The second strand is more intensive stating that not only are we obligated to those whom we share nothing in common with but also find ourselves accountable for knowing other individuals on a more profound level of their practices and belief systems. Yet, while there do exist these two varying strands Appiah also acknowledges that it is not desirable nor probable that as a collective population we want to live under a single model of living. All the while, he briefly states that these two varying strands of the same descending concept may conflict in certain instances. Those who advocate fiercely for the cause of unification and understanding were often mocked for their own hypocritical actions.

Case in point, Appiah demonstrates how his experience with a Ghanaian pageant resonates with the attributes of a celebratory atmosphere and feeling over the sector in exclusive festivals. Appiah explains that every culture has its own competition and one other worldwide event that appears to make a change in non-existent culture is globalization. On this regard, Appiah identifies globalization’s essential function as advertising of commonness whilst eliminating divisions amongst the sector’s citizens. Appiah’s evaluation has a religious point of view too. In one instance, Appiah identifies the function of Cosmopolitanism in an elimination of what's morally incorrect. In this regard, Cosmopolitanism plays the identical function as religion would on the planet. This expose elucidates the function of religion in Appiah’s analysis while comparing his method to my

For this reason it is necessary to learn how to understand or more than that how to learn to live with other cultures and get involve with diversity.

Diversity week is a week-long program held by the university of Akron. This program is organized by groups on campus. The purpose is to educate college students the diverse races, cultures, genders, ages, sexual differences, social and economic status in our society today. I had the opportunity to attend the “Education Abroad: Your Door to the world” session. In this activity, we talked about the different opportunities associated with studying abroad. Some of these opportunities are getting to launch your career, make long life friends and family, and personal development and growth in your life.

In the pursuit to gain the greatest understanding and respect of human rights projects and global social justice cosmopolitanism is necessary. Looking at cosmopolitism’s roots, features and limits through the lenses of authors Fine, Held and Calhoun to further address the importance of this ideal regardless of its weaknesses. Following the debate of whether critics are right about cosmopolitanisms liberal biases undermining its critical potential will be discussed, to suggest where cosmopolitanism needs adjustments in order to progress. Lastly, this paper will consider the idea that cosmopolitan ideals are more necessary then ever given the resurgence of nationalist and isolationist politics worldwide. Through an overall analysis of

Overall, the idea of beliefs shaped by your environment and culture, thought out Anthony Appiah's novel Cosmopolitanism, is clearly exemplified in Things Fall Apart. Specifically by the character of Ezinma. Her beliefs, environment, and culture are clearly shown throughout the actions and consequences of her

New technology has played a major role in spreading the idea of cosmopolitanism because it allows people to share their beliefs with clarity around the world. The use of computers allows people to publicize their conversation on social media which limits the amount of false information people receive. It makes it easier to learn about events that are not happening in a person’s hometown. Appiah thought “we have obligations that stretch beyond those to whom we are related by the ties of kith and kind, or even the more formal ties of a shared citizenship” (69). The philosopher wanted people to step outside there comfort zone and learn about other communities and their values and customs, being educated about different cultures along with respecting

Throughout different readings written by influential philosophers, many have found a cosmopolitan society to be associated with the idea of public and private spheres. The relationship between public and private in a community is arguably essential to maintaining political order and international peace. Through the lens of Diogenes’ bibliography and Immanuel Kant’s work, they demonstrate the notion of cosmopolitan through different public and private spheres. These two philosophers have very different outlooks on this concept and how to go about them, but at the same time, are striving towards a similar goal; a cosmopolitan society. Both philosophers discuss how freedom is a key aspect in

In the article “Nationalism, Patriotism, and Cosmopolitanism in an Age of Globalization” author Robert Audi (2009) identifies different levels of nationalism and cosmopolitanism and how they can affect globalization. Audi categorizes nationalism and cosmopolitanism as being extreme, moderate, and minimal.