Cosmopolitanism+-+Con

= = =Cosmopolitanism (Con) by Stephen Puckette and Zeynep Gedikoglu = = = = = = = =Definition of the Concept =

In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
The nebulous core shared by all cosmopolitan views is the idea that all human beings, regardless of their political affiliation, are (or can and should be) citizens in a single community.

By Kwame Anthony Appiah:
  A British Philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist . Kwame Anthony Appiah was presented with a National Medal of Humanities by U.S. President Barack Obama (R) during an East Room ceremony February 13, 2012 at the White House in Washington, DC. Appiah was presented with the medal for seeking eternal truths in the contemporary world.

 The cosmopolitan ethic starts from the thought that human knowledge is fallible—that no culture or individual has a lock on truth—and upholds "conversation," broadly defined as the respectful and candid exchange of views among individuals and cultures—as a good in its own right; agreement is not its ultimate goal. It understands individuals in the context of their cultures but tends, where the two clash, to give primacy to the former. What cosmopolitanism does not permit, however, is a kind of flaccid relativism; it insists that there are some universals—basic human rights, for instance—which are non-negotiable. Otherwise, it says, difference and disagreement are so much grist for mutually enriching dialogue. = = =MYTH: It is an attitude of open-mindedness and impartiality. A cosmopolitan is someone who is not subservient to a particular religious or political authority, someone who is not biased by particular loyalties or cultural prejudice. Who is that! =

It is a person who leads an urban life-style, or who is fond of traveling, cherishes a network of international contacts or feels at home everywhere.



B.C.E. 400 GREECE
A person who adheres to the idea of cosmopolitanism in any of its forms is called a cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Definitions of cosmopolitanism usually begin with the Greek etymology of "citizen of the world". However, "world" in the original sense meant "cosmos" or "universe", not earth or globe as current use assumes.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">However, according to many early modern theorists, what all individuals share is a fundamental striving for self-preservation, and the universality of this striving does not amount to a fundamental bond that unites all humans in a universal community.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Rousseau said that cosmopolitans;“boast that they love everyone, which also means ‘the whole world, to have the right to love no one” (Geneva Manuscript version of The Social Contract, 158).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Johann Georg Schlosser, in the critical poem ‘Der Kosmopolit’ writes, “It is better to be proud of one's nation than to have none,” obviously assuming that cosmopolitanism implies the latter.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">ENIGMA IS:
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cosmopolitanism: strongly moral humanist discourse, not about being multi-cultural or communicating globally

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Yet global activism tends to fall outside; is it not relevant?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cosmopolitanism needs to connect with agency, with media, with politics to be productive!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Thus: how might we conceive of ‘civic cosmopolitanism’ without leaving out individuality ?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">COSMO x ANTI-COSMO
=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ6hk9NNa1w = = =

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Non-Productiveness of the Concept: = = = [|There currently isn't a whole lot of data to suggest the world is flat.]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.5;">The Cosmopolitan Context

 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">Globalization – a familiar and contested phenomenon
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">Almost in its wake, the notion of cosmopolitanism has become a new buzzword in the last decade
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">Growing academic literature; a ‘discourse’ emerging
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">Surprisingly, it says little about media
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">Also, tends to be oddly removed from ideas of political practice
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">Focuses on ethics and moral issues!

=Relevance=


 * //Tower of Babel//**: The idea of cosmopolitanism is not just a recent idea but one that has existed for millennia. One example of cosmopolitanism from antiquity is the famed story of the Tower of Babel. This story found in Genesis 11:1-9 recounts a time when everyone on Earth spoke one language and decided to all settle together with the goal in mind of building a city and tower that reached the heavens. Now either because of their hubris or failure to uphold God's mandate that humankind should multiply and disperse, God confused the building process by making everyone speak a different language. After disrupting their communication God dispersed them across the globe. This is a story found not just in the Bible but many different religious texts from the region indicating that this was a prevalent narrative from history. Literal or not the story can stand in as a broader representation that cosmopolitan ideals are doomed to fail and in fact beget the differences they are trying to unify.



These paintings by Bruegel from the 16th century showcase the construction of the tower and hint at its foreboding downfall. The design of the tower is similar to that of the Roman Colosseum, which represented a culture at the time that presided over the entirety of the known world which would subsequently decay and then collapse (Morra, 2007).

//**Contemporary Issues**:// An examination of American foreign policy over the past decade also could be interpreted as the failure of cosmopolitanism in favor of the nation-state. America's invasion of Iraq in 2003 was predicated on the justification put forth by the Bush administration that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD's. Critics argued that the invasion was really just a way for America to maintain its oil supply. President Obama has been insistent in recent months and years on brokering a deal with the Iranians to dismantle their nuclear program for the safety of the world. Critics argue though that this a move more about protecting his legacy and that it is contributing to ongoing turmoil in Yemen as Iran and Saudi Arabia fight a proxy war for regional dominance (Ghitis, 2015). There is also uncertainty in Israel about their own country's safety.

=Contingency= In theory it's a useful construct that harnesses the ideals of humanism and promotes global equality. It's a concept that can be applied in many ways promoting utopian ideals that humans should aspire to. But it seems that for every instance cosmopolitanism can be attributed, anti cosmoplotianistic critiques can be made just the same. United Nations organizations such as World Bank and the International Monetary Fund can be seen as fulfilling cosmopolitanism but the opposite can be argued just as well. With one being located in the United States with an American president and the other in Europe with a rotating European president, these organizations are still very much subjected to the goals of certain nations that aren't always for the sole benefit of the country that they are providing assitance to. Cosmopolitanism ideals can be attributed to much of the progress of humanity but much like the Tower of Babel it is crumbling as fast as it is rising.