Philosophers, Nationalism, and Cosmopolitanism
in Philosophy ·
Nicole Castillo11 said:The concept of cosmopolitanism first surfaced during the Hellenistic era of ancient philosophy, particularly within Stoicism. While most people back then dismissed anyone who wasn't Greek as a barbarian, the Stoics taught that a wise person is a "citizen of the world," viewing the entire planet as their true home. You see a similar line of reasoning in the teachings of Pythagoras from Elyria, the founder of skepticism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmopolitanism
So, what does it actually mean in practice for a wise person to call the whole world their home? Does it mean they’ll act like a local when visiting Rome, or try to force the rest of the world to be as advanced as Greece, or...?
That’s a fair question. I think the answer is "both," which points to a certain schizophrenia inherent in the cosmopolitan mindset. You have two conflicting attitudes clashing: on one hand, they recognize the importance of local cultural communities, but on the other, they insist on the unity of humanity and want to strip away any local cultural elements that get in the way of that unity. That first attitude shows a willingness to adapt and accept others for who they are, while the second reveals a missionary streak—not necessarily spreading their own culture because they think it's better, but rather trying to establish a single global culture or even a global state that exists mostly as an idea.
I’m also skeptical about this whole "citizen of the world" thing. I don't buy the idea that someone can feel truly at home everywhere. I honestly don't think it's possible to not feel like a stranger somewhere.
A quick side note:
The standard logic for building and maintaining identity in social and political spheres is basically: A is A because it isn't B. This works perfectly fine for something like national identity.
Globalization provides the material and technological foundation for a cosmopolitan or universal human identity. But there's a massive missing piece: the awareness of other beings that are equal to humans. You need that prerequisite for the logic of identity to function—you define who you are by distinguishing yourself from the "other." So, it looks like cosmopolitans won't truly find their footing until we actually run into intelligent aliens. 😁 Until then, the whole concept of cosmopolitanism is just floating in mid-air. 😢