Cosmopolitan Thinkers Research Articles

Cosmopolitan Localism: Augustine on Place and Contingency

Augustine is not included among the many ancient thinkers that Martha Nussbaum draws upon for her cosmopolitan project. This is surprising both because Augustine is often read as a cosmopolitan and because Nussbaum engages with and critiques him on other related matters, particularly the purported 'otherworldliness' of this thought. This article remedies this lack, putting Augustine into conversation with Nussbaum's cosmopolitanism. By investigating Augustine's view of contingency generally and the contingency of place specifically, I show that Augustine's thought supports both universal ethical concern of the sort Nussbaum praises and particular attachments to place which Nussbaum has been criticized for lacking. In addition, Augustine's view of contingency avoids the ironism of Richard Rorty's patriotism, which Nussbaum also criticizes. Augustine sees more clearly than both Nussbaum and Rorty how particular and universal commitments need not be competitive. Therefore, Augustine is not quite the cosmopolitan thinker that he is often recognized to be, but neither is he the severely otherworldly thinker that Nussbaum reads him as.

Planetarism: a paradigmatic alternative to internationalism

ABSTRACT What is a robust theoretical alternative to nationalism? For many seasoned cosmopolitan thinkers the answer is internationalism, which is generally perceived to be a sound foundation for creating a global polity in the form of a federation of nations. But this assumption is here criticised on the basis that it is founded on an inherent fallacy – internationalism is only a modification of nationalism, where the latter remains the ideological nucleus in conceptual terms – which therefore means that today many renowned cosmopolitan thinkers in the last instance seek to build a global polity on the same divisive ideational foundation that brought on the World Wars in the last century. Because of the shared roots of nationalism and internationalism, the salient question is really; what comes after the international? The answer argued for here is; a novel paradigm of ‘planetarism’ that is not a compromise with the extant nationalisms.

Tagore’s “rooted-cosmopolitanism” and international mindedness against institutional sustainability

ABSTRACT Cosmopolitanism is often seen as a western concept associated with liberal individualistic values. It is also associated mostly with the urban educated middle-class. However, cosmopolitan thinking has been also prevalent in the East. Scholars in the twenty-first century are increasingly arguing that, there are multiple ways of thinking about cosmopolitanism originating from different regions of the world. Among Eastern thinkers, Rabindranath Tagore from colonial British India has been considered by many as one of the most cosmopolitan thinkers. The uniqueness about Tagore’s cosmopolitanism is that, it did not uproot him from his rural Bengali roots and sense of ethnic identity. He was very much a “rooted-cosmopolitan”. In his book, ‘Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers’, Kwame Anthony Appaiah had agued that, a “rooted cosmopolitan” is someone who was rooted in his own cultural context while having an open-mind to feel literally at home in the world. This article draws on archival research at Rabindra Bhawan in Shantiniketan and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Library archives to further this argument and demonstrates how Tagore’s school and university were built drawing on his “rooted cosmopolitan” ideals and international mindedness. In conclusion, this article highlights some of the challenges of sustaining the reformist educational institutions led by Tagore’s unique personality traits, social and pedagogic reform movements in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century colonial British India.

Paul the Cosmopolitan?

The apostle Paul has been viewed by many as a cosmopolitan thinker who called Christ-followers to embrace the ideal of a single humanity living in harmony with a divinely ordered cosmos. A close comparison of Paul's apocalyptic theology with various interpretations of ‘cosmopolitanism’ over the centuries, however, shows few points of agreement. Paul was fundamentally a Jewish sectarian whose vision for a better world embraced only Christ-followers and involved the cataclysmic end of the present world order. Those who accepted and lived by this vision were effectively relegated to the same marginal position in civic life as the local Jewish community.

Is Dante a cosmopolitan?

This article attempts to answer the question ‘Is Dante a Cosmopolitan?’ or, more specifically, ‘Does Dante’s advocacy for a world empire in Monarchia constitute a cosmopolitan theory of politics?’ Cosmopolitanism grew out of fifth-century B.C.E. Greece and has gained increasing traction among both moral philosophers and political scientists in recent decades. Contemporary scholars, particularly in the field of international relations theory, often list Dante as an early advocate for global governance. Dante is offered as a stepping stone between the cosmopolitans of the ancient world and Kantian liberals. Yet none of these scholars have really explored how well Monarchia fits into this tradition. This paper examines the text of Dante’s Monarchia in light of cosmopolitan political theory. It finds that, while Dante does share some key concerns with modern cosmopolitan thinkers, he ultimately fails to provide a model (even a primitive one) of cosmopolitan ethics or cosmopolitan government.

Constructivism in cosmopolitan law: Kant’s right to visit

Abstract:Kant is regarded as one of the most influential cosmopolitan thinkers. Indeed his legacy still influences the contemporary legal and philosophical debate on this issue. But what is the Kantian conception of cosmopolitan law? In which terms does it arise out of his notion of a ‘right to visit’? How does it contribute to the construction of a ‘cosmopolitan constitution’? In this article the view is advanced that Kant was a legal constructivist. The argument assumes also that within Kant’s view of an ‘original community of interaction’, the justification of a cosmopolitan notion of authority allows exercises of freedom under a general scheme of right. Kant’s ‘cosmopolitan constitution’ depends therefore upon such rationale, as well as on the jurisdictional link that the right to visit determines in allowing individuals with the possibility to have a ‘place on earth’.

Particularizing the Universal: Dave Eggers Writes Human Rights

This article examines the ways in which two literary texts by the American author Dave Eggers, his novel You Shall Know Our Velocity (2002) and his short story “Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly,” interrogate the abstract humanism that underlies universalist rights and explore the reasons for their ineptitude at effecting their promise of universalism when faced with the particularity of individual cultures. Thematically, Eggers's stories test the limits of promoting rights on the basis of an innate shared humanity by exposing how such a basis easily slides into other universalist practices such as those of neocolonialism and neoimperialism. At the character level, these narratives consider the possibilities for meaningful cross-cultural relationships within the context of these discourses, revealing the ease with which they in turn can slip into hierarchical relations that reaffirm existing divisions. In doing so, they also engage and challenge the conclusions of cosmopolitan thinkers such as Kwame Anthony Appiah or Jürgen Habermas who have influentially proposed cross-cultural dialogues as a means of overcoming the tension between universalism and particularity. Interestingly, then, even as interdisciplinary research on literature and human rights has begun to etch out the coalescence of the two, Eggers provides an important example of how literary texts can also critique human rights discourses and can explore questions pertaining to their global reach.

The Cosmopolitan Turn and the Primacy of Difference

Cosmopolitanism is commonly understood as a universal norm—moral and political—in the light of enduring differences, and for that reason it has historically embodied a seemingly inevitable dilemma of universality/particularity. Since its inception, cosmopolitan thinkers have struggled with the dilemma and have attempted ways to address the question of difference so that the universal norm and obligation can be justified and defended. One of the most common strategies is to give primacy to universal humanity and override difference; another recent strategy is to give up universalism to take difference seriously and frame difference in agonistic terms. I argue in this article that both strategies are inadequate and unsatisfactory in conceptualising and dealing with difference. Briefly tracing some of the major cosmopolitan approaches, I argue that the conceptualisation of difference and human subjectivity is at the core of the problem as well as the solution. Drawing on Lévinas and his emphasis on the primacy of difference in the constitution of human subjectivity and community, I propose a new understanding of the self and the Other for the success of the cosmopolitan project.

Hegel and global politics: Communitarianism or cosmopolitanism?

This article discusses Hegel’s views on global politics by relating them to the ‘communitarianism versus cosmopolitanism’ debate. I distinguish between three different theoretical positions and three different readings of Hegel, which I associate with the notions of ‘communitarianism’, ‘strong cosmopolitanism’ and ‘weak cosmopolitanism’, respectively. Contrary to a commonly held view that Hegel is not a cosmopolitan thinker at all, in any sense of the term, I argue that he is best thought of as a weak cosmopolitan thinker rather than a communitarian or a strong cosmopolitan advocate of the idea of a world-state. In passing, the article refers to the relationship which exists between Hegel’s ideas and those of three twentieth-century theorists who might be associated with these theoretical positions and these different readings of Hegel, namely, Carl Schmitt, Alexandre Kojève and Jürgen Habermas. The article also refers to the methodological problems which are confronted by readers of Hegel’s writings who wish to apply his ideas to the problems of global politics today. Here I refer to a distinction which I have made elsewhere between different kinds of reading, namely the interpretation, appropriation and the reconstruction of texts, which is especially relevant for readers of the works of Hegel.

Vasilii Grossman: A cosmopolitan writer depicts the murder of the Jewish people

This essay identifies and explains intellectual influences in Soviet Jewish writer Vasilii Grossman’s representation of the Holocaust. In his 1943 essay ‘Ukraine without Jews’, Grossman described murdered Jewry as a people defined by their unique culture, history and experience of World War II. An unpublished diary of Grossman’s reading notes from the 1930s provides fragmentary evidence of his pre-war ideas about Jewish people and history. Using a microhistorical approach, Grossman’s reading notes citing Johann Gottfried von Herder in 1938 are interpreted as clues that help explain the content of ‘Ukraine without Jews’, written five years later. This essay shows that Grossman was a cosmopolitan thinker who derived some of his ideas about Jewish history from European thinkers, and that these ideas influenced his depiction of the Jewish victims of Nazi genocide.

Letters from an American farmer and other essays

Letters from an was published in London in 1782, just as the idea of an was becoming a reality. Those epistolary essays introduced the European public to America's landscape and customs and have since served as the iconic description of a then-new people. Dennis D. Moore's convenient, up-to-date reader's edition situates those twelve pieces from the 1782 Letters in the context of thirteen other essays representative of Crevecoeur's writings in English. The American Farmer of the title is Crevecoeur's fictional persona James, a bumpkin from rural Pennsylvania. In his Introduction to this edition, Moore places this self-effacing pose in perspective and charts Crevecoeur's enterprising approach to self-promotion, which involved repackaging and adapting his writings for French and English audiences. Born in Normandy, Crevecoeur came to New York in the 1750s by way of England and then Canada, traveled throughout the colonies as a surveyor and trader, and was naturalized in 1765. The pieces he included in the 1782 Letters map a shift from hopefulness to disillusionment: its opening selections offer America as a utopian haven from European restrictions on personal liberty and material advancement but give way to portrayals of a land plagued by the horrors of slavery, the threat of Indian raids, and revolutionary unrest. This new edition opens up a broader perspective on this artful, ambitious writer and cosmopolitan thinker who coined America's most enduring metaphor: a place where individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men.

Nussbaum, cosmopolitanism and contemporary political problems

Purpose – The paper aims to be a critical engagement with the ideas of Martha Nussbaum, as expressed in her recent book Creating Capabilities Design/methodology/approach – The author's discussion focuses on the relationship which exists between Nussbaum's capabilities approach and cosmopolitan political thought. It follows Nussbaum in making a distinction between “strong” and “weak” cosmopolitanism. Findings – The paper maintains that, despite Nussbaum's claim that she is not a cosmopolitan thinker, it is arguable that she can be associated with a weak form of cosmopolitanism. Originality/value – This is an original piece of work which sheds new light on the relationship which exists between the ideas of Martha Nussbaum and the cosmopolitan tradition.

Contemporary Perspectives on Diversity Interventions

AbstractThe author considers and contrasts a number of contemporary viewpoints about the nature and potential impact of diversity interventions primarily within higher education institutions and across organizational cultures. He focuses on issues of race and racial inequality, although the principles and theoretical perspectives discussed could be applied to other areas where inequalities exist. The author also draws upon current perspectives on race, racism, and ways of making effective and meaningful diversity interventions, including views from critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and cosmopolitan thinkers. He concludes that the modern educator within higher education is faced with the dilemma of a choice between rejecting useful theoretical insights into the extent of racial discrimination and being resigned to making largely ineffective diversity interventions. A solution to the dilemma is briefly outlined.

Cosmopolitan justice and the league of democracies

Cosmopolitan justice calls for extensive institutional transformations at the international level. But in the absence of a global enforcing authority, such transformations are bound to be hampered by a range of obstacles, including non-compliance and coordination problems. What solutions can a cosmopolitan thinker offer to address these challenges? In answering this question, the paper focuses on the role that international cooperation between the world’s democracies can play in promoting cosmopolitan aspirations. It argues that such cooperation has a crucial role to play in executing global justice reforms; and furthermore, that the world’s democracies have a moral duty to lead the way in implementing cosmopolitan justice. The paper then suggests that a ‘League of Democracies’ – an intergovernmental organization which is open exclusively to the world’s democracies – could potentially facilitate the type of democratic cooperation that is necessary for cosmopolitan justice.

Contemporary perspectives on diversity interventions: A dilemma for educators

AbstractThe author considers and contrasts a number of contemporary viewpoints about the nature and potential impact of diversity interventions primarily within higher education institutions and across organizational cultures. He focuses on issues of race and racial inequality, although the principles and theoretical perspectives discussed could be applied to other areas where inequalities exist. The author also draws upon current perspectives on race, racism, and ways of making effective and meaningful diversity interventions, including views from critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and cosmopolitan thinkers. He concludes that the modern educator within higher education is faced with the dilemma of a choice between rejecting useful theoretical insights into the extent of racial discrimination and being resigned to making largely ineffective diversity interventions. A solution to the dilemma is briefly outlined.

A Realistic Utopia? Nancy Fraser, Cosmopolitanism and the Making of a Just World Order

Nearly two decades after the end of the Cold War, academics, policy makers and commentators continue to be puzzled by the shape, form and content of contemporary world politics. The fluidity of the post-Cold War era has seen the elevation of largely functional explanations for why things are to a more transcendent set of ideas about how social relations can be made afresh. This shift from ideology to utopia is no idle problem, for what it tends to generate are images which often lie outside historical experience and time and place specificities. This article is an attempt to provide a corrective to at least parts of this malady by carrying out a Zeitdiagnose which questions some of the taken-for-granted assumptions about the current period, in particular the schema offered by the prominent cosmopolitan thinker, Nancy Fraser. The article looks in detail at the historical basis of Fraser's current work, comparing it both to similar visions prevalent in the inter-war years and to contemporary programmes based on the theory of the democratic peace and the policy of democracy promotion. The article develops a construct — realistic utopias — which aims to build from history to mid-range abstractions rather than from general abstractions to events on the ground. As a result, it is argued, a more developed link can be made between theory and practice, abstraction and history, normative project and institutional reality.

The Jew as Pariah: Hannah Arendt's political philosophy

Hannah Arendt has come to occupy, in the collective consciousness of Jews in this century, a notoriety comparable to that attained by Karl Marx a century ago. Respect for brilliance and compelling insight has been compromised by suspicion and shame. Rejection of Jewish identity and Judaism for both Marx and Arendt has gone hand in hand with creative contributions to secular thought. In the case of Marx, that suspicion was, of course, based primarily on his 1843 essay, "On the Jewish Question." The force of the suspicion in Hannah Arendt's case is less severe, and so are the rationalizations for it. Nevertheless, how does one reconcile the moral character of works such as The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition and Between Past and Future with the claims put forward in Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem', and with the sustained bitterness of the controversy over that book. Even though a dispassionate reading of the Eichmann book should dispel the most blatant allegations about Hannah Arendt, she contin? ues to be a source of discomfort for many Jewish intellectuals in America and Israel. The appearance in 1978 of The Jew as Pariah, a col? lection of her essays on the Jews in modern times, most of which were first published in the 1940s and early 1950s, did little to alle? viate the outrage. This collection, together with Elisabeth Young-Bruehl's 1982 biography, pro vides an appropriate basis for reconsidering the image of Hannah Arendt's work and life, above all with respect to the Jewish question. When Arendt died in 1975, the tributes offered in her memory reflected the image of Hannah Arendt that had evolved since The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951). She was seen as a "citizen of the world," as a cosmopolitan thinker whose Jewish origin was an incidental fact. Ironically, the resentment towards her Eichmann book within the Jewish community was based on the belief that she was merely an? other assimilated refugee German Jew, perhaps "of the German left" and clearly without "a love of the Jewish people," as Gershom Scholem put it bluntly in a critical public ex? change of letters with Arendt. Even Hans Jonas, her lifelong friend, apologized publicly for her Eichmann book at a symposium at Bard College on the day of her burial, calling it regrettable. Content with the image of Arendt as "world citizen," even those who took up Arendt's defense considered the Eichmann book only incidentally about Jewish matters. Most defenders of the work agreed that its sig? nificance lay in the fact that it was a specula? tive essay in ethics and philosophical politics. Indeed, it inspired Arendt's final, unfinished philosophic work on "Thinking" and "Willing." Lapses in its facticity were viewed as irrelevant. In 1975, at the moment of her death, then, the importance of Arendt's self-defining Jewish? ness was forgotten or discounted. Not one of the memorial papers delivered at the New Leon Botstein is President of Bard College, Annandale, New York.

LANDSCAPE IMPRESSION AND THE EXTERNAL BASIS OF NATURAL BEAUTY

IT is often said with some truth that this century has seen a welcome change from the last towards a desire to bring scientific knowledge and æsthetic appreciation of Nature more into line in human thought. Yet there were already signs of a change of outlook during the nineteenth century. That shrewd cosmopolitan thinker, Alexander von Hum-boldt, who helped to lay the foundations of so many of the geophysical and geographical sciences and saw so much of Nature in many lands, considered that it was not altogether possible to dissociate aesthetics from science in the study and contemplation of landscapes. As to Victorian England, it is instructive in this regard to note the respective attitudes of Tyndall and Geikie, for example, in science, and of Ruskin and Wordsworth in art and poetry.