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Reading Kwame Appiah’s Cosmopolitanism Review ECI 524 By Yuanyuan Fang
By integrating illustrative storytelling with inspirational philosophical theories, Kwame Anthony Appiah in Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World World of Strangers presents a significant and humane “philosophy as an art of living in this confused age and delivers a moral manifesto of “!eing a citi"en of the world in a planet plane t with around si# !illion strangers $%ansen, $%ansen, &'(')* &'(')* +o e#pound on his Cosmopolitanism theory, Appiah gave a vivid account of his personal e#perience, growing up as the child of an English mother and a father from hana in a family across four continents* %e also illuminated many thought-provo.ing /uestions that face us ! y using impressive analogies and metaphors, comparisons and contrast, and powerful and convincing /uotes and ideas from many giants in anthropology, psychology, psychology, and philosophy, etc*: %ow should people peo ple around the world competently interact with each other and live in harmony when disagreement or warring conceptions a!out the nature of morality !rea. ! rea. out0 %ow can people peop le !e responsi!le for others1 life on this planet without giving up or sacrificing sacrificing their own0 %ow can people !alance the universal values with individual needs in “a glo!al community0 What should we do to meet these challenges to a glo!al ethics0 At the core of the !oo.--Cosmopolitanism as an appeal for understanding and mutual respect of fellow world neigh!ors, through the chapters, Appiah advocates “a conversation across !oundaries, guides and encourages us to recogni"e universal values and “our o!ligations to other human hu man !eings, and suggests a inspirational prescription for our world where conflicts and intolerance still e#ist* At the !eginning of the !oo., Appiah e#panded his ideas with an interesting story that our world is !ecoming smaller !ecause people have more access to different places !eyond his own through trading, migration, travelling, and media, etc* 2 or him, people have more opportunities to interact with others everywhere, and influence an d learn from each other* 3n this part, he proposes cosmopolitanism* According According to Appiah, a cosmopolitanism is is the idea that people the world over have responsi!ilities and o!ligations to others !eyond “the local tri!e or clan* A cosmopolitan is recogni"ed as “a citi"en of the world who recogni"es the world as a community, !elieves in universal !eliefs and values, and shows his4her universal concern* %e also !elieves that people should learn from difference or disagreements and cele! rate “diversity !y wea.ening the national !oundaries or !orders and understanding and respecting neigh!ors1 loyalty to “local inherence or traditions* +hen, Appiah argues that positivism, relativism, relativism, and the distinction !etween facts and values all hinder the path to cosmopolitanism and affect the effective “conversation across !ou ndaries* %e put an emphasis on the way values shape people1s thought, act, and feelings through this .ind of conversation* Appiah also uses his .in1s e#ample to attac. that positivist notion of fact, and he
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argues that facts actually depends on what people already have faith in* 3n this sense, he underscores the conception of cosmopolitanism: local traditions would not !e harmful to people* 3n the following chapters, Appiah ma.es more endeavor to rationale universal conceptions, values, and rights, and suggest some sound ways people the world over face and live with disagreements or conflicts* %e suggests conversations !etween people should involve each other1s interest, and engage each other with their e#periences and ideas* +his .ind of conversations that do not have to result in agreements a!out values ma.es much sense in terms of cosmopolitanism* Appiah also notes that people everywhere have shared ideas and common ha!its, such as !uying things, eating, devotion d evotion to family, going to parties, etc* 3t also includes universal values, such as “.indness, generosity, and compassion$5* 67)* +hese can !e ! e involved in conversations across !oundaries as well* 3n this sense, we ha ve strong cases to !e open to our world neigh!ors1 ways of thin.ing, feeling, and ac ting* 3n the !oo., Appiah also criti/ue glo!al capitalism, homogeneity, and glo!al religious fundamentalism with interesting terms he adopted, such as “Cosmopolitan Contamination, “Cultural compatrony, “fundamentalism, and “pluralism, etc* 3n this part, Appiah criti/ue of 3slamic and Christian 2undamentalist version of o f universal truth* According to Appiah, it is contrary to cosmopolitanism that “em!races pluralism and promotes the view that our view is not perfect and that everyone should learn from other cultures different from from his4hers* What impressed me most is Appiah1s critical response to “.indness to Strangers* %e doesn1t thin. “we own strangers* We We may thin. it critical and “indifferent* %owever, Appiah Appiah doesn1t deny glo!al o!ligations and universal human rights* 3n his opinion, cosmopolitanism does not re/uire us or suggest us to show more sympathy s ympathy or concern for strangers than those who are intimate to us* %e disapproves of the idea that “we should give give most of money to the poor, !ecause he thin.s this will !urden people and result in the lower /uality of people1s lives* According to Appiah, “a genuinely cosmopolitan response !egins with caring to tr y to understand why, and it is a!out a!ou t intelligence and curiosity as well as engagement* $5* (78) 2or me, 3 partly agree with him* As a good saying goes in China, “+o teach fishing is much !etter than giving fish* Based on the figures given !y Appiah to account for whether “dump free grain to local economy and putting local farmers out of !usiness, we can imply that passively spending money to save them is not a long term o!9ective* An active and intelligent way of helping our world fellow villagers is for government policies to thin. a!ou t their “aspirations as well as the !asic needs* oney, colla!orative efforts and aids may !e spent mostly on edu cating young children early and helping improving the whole living environment* +hese are cosmopolitan challenges* +here is no denying the fact that it ta.es time to help them out of trou!le* Although Although it is not easy in the conte#t of world politics, we cosmopolitans should wor. together to ma.e attempt to !e advocates of Cosmopolitan 9ustice* +hough Appiah in his !oo. implies his worries a!out esta!lishing a world government as “the vehicle to preserve people1s universal human rights, he put less emphasis on the the specific ways of advocating for Cosmopolitan 9ustice*
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In-depth Response to Appiah's Reasoning
3n his !oo. Cosmopolitanism, Kwame Appiah s.etches a philosophical rationale for cosmopolitan thin.ing through a series of anecdotal a rguments* Each of these anecdotes has the structure of a story, with narrative ups and downs, and most end in some resolution or move ment forward* +he anecdotes are often grounded in practical or historical applications* Each anecdote opens with a premise followed !y a series of arguments, counter-arguments, counter-arguments, and conclusions or new pro!lems* 3n this forum, we will discuss some of these anecdotes* 2or this forum you should identify and summari"e one of Appiah1s anecdotes* Appiah Appiah delivers do"ens anecdotes, so 3 would li.e for each one of you to discuss something uni/ue* 5lease read your peers1 posts !efore you post to ma.e sure you are writing something uni/ue* ;our initial post should include a summary of ;our o f the anecdote and an in-depth response to Appiah of his !oo. Cosmopolitanism, Kwame Appiah Appiah delivers an impressive anecdote with regard to “ta!oo in “=ed 5eppers on Wednesday Wednesday section---his father, as an Asante, wouldn1t eat “!ush meat$5* >?)* 3t was not no t !ecause he didn1t li.e it or he was allergic to it* Based on Appiah1s argument, his father1s reaction was !uilt on !y the Asante clan culture* 2or his father who was a clan of the Bush Cow, the clan animal is li.e a relative of his* 3n this case, eating “!ush meat was, sym!olically, eating eating a person* 3t was “a ta!oo to a god to whom people in the clan owe allegiance, and it was for!idden$5* 6')* +his is one of A.an ta!oos that have !een deep ly enmeshed in their customs and factual !eliefs, and they are values that guide A.an people1s acts, thoughts, and feelings* 2or strangers, the !reach of the ta!oos in the local values may still affect strangers strangers and cause some em!arrassment, misunderstandings, discomfort, or sort of “fuss, although it is not li.e morals that apply to every!ody and visitors could !e “cleansed “ cleansed or “purified after accidental !reach* +a.e one of the cultural ta!oos in China for e#ample, presenting “ cloc. as a gift for senior1s !irthday party is a serious ta!oo, !ecause “cloc. in Chinese is “"hong, and “"hong in Chinese homophonic means “death* 2or seniors, they would interpret that you wish them to die on their !irthday party if you accidentally present them a cloc.* 3t is definitely offensive offensive to others* @i.e “proscriptions on eating !ush meat, this is also !uilt on Chinese philosophical concept and culture-- “death is a ta!oo in Chinese people1s daily life or conversation* 2or people who don1t .now the local values, or share the local the “metaphysics, these ta!oos will lead to disagreements or warring conceptions a!out what to do or how to !ehave* ! ehave* %owever, these disagreements will not !e o!stacles for cosmopolitans to recogni"e “.indness, generosity, and compassion$5* 67)* +o +o !e a successful cosmopolitan co smopolitan or glo!al citi"en, “how to .eep yourself
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ritually clean and !ehaving competently co mpetently in cross cultural conte#ts is on the !asis of mutual understanding and respecting of others1 interest* Based on avid %ansen1s and Appiah1s point that cosmopolitans are open to new things without giving up their own inherent traditions, people with such universal conceptions are ready to learn a!out the values that vary var y from place to place*
Referenes
Appiah, K* $&''7)* Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers $(st ed*)* ew ;or.: W*W W*W** orton Company* %ansen, * $&'(')* Cosmopolitanism and education: A view from the ground* +eachers College =ecord,((&$()* Seifi.ar, * %* $&''8) QUEST: An An African Journal of Philosophy / Revue Africaine de Philosophie – ISSN !"##$ !"##$
