Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers

We have grown accustomed in this anxious, post-9/II era to constructing a world fissured by warring creeds and cultures. Much of humanity now seems separated by chasms of incomprehension. Kwame Anthony Appiah's landmark new work challenges the separatist doctrines espoused in books such as Samuel P. Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations. Reviving the ancient philosophy of Cosmopolitanism, a school of thought that dates to the Cynics of the fourth century BCE, Appiah traces its influence on the ethical legacies of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, Kant's dream of a league of nations, and the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In doing so, Appiah shows how Western intellectuals and leaders, on both the left and the right, have wildly exaggerated the power of difference — and neglected the power of one. One world. One species. Challenging years of received wisdom, Cosmopolitanism is a resounding work of philosophy and global culture.

"In a world more interconnected than ever, the responsibilities and obligations we share remain matters of volatile debate. Weighing in on a discourse that includes both visions of 'clashing civilizations' and often equally misguided cultural relativism, Ghana-born Princeton philosopher Appiah (In My Father's House) reclaims a tradition of creative exchange and imaginative engagement across lines of difference. This cosmopolitan ethic, which he traces from the Greek Cynics and through to the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, must inevitably balance universals with respect for particulars. This balance comes through 'conversation,' a term Appiah uses literally and metaphorically to signal the depth of encounters across national, religious and other forms of identity. At the same time, Appiah stresses conversation needn't involve consensus, since living together mostly entails just getting used to one another. Amid the good and bad of globalization, the author parses some basic cultural-philosophical beliefs — drawing frequent examples from his own far-flung multicultural family as well as from impersonal relationships of exchange and power — to focus due attention on widespread and unexamined assumptions about identity, difference and morality. A stimulating read, leavened by cheerful, fluid prose, the book will challenge fashionable theories of irreconcilable divides with a practical and pragmatic worldview that revels in difference and the adventure of a shared humanity. This is an excellent start to Norton's new Issues of Our Time series." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Kwame Anthony Appiah's Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers is a welcome attempt to resurrect an older tradition of moral and political reflection and to show its relevance to our current condition." The Nation

"Cosmopolitanism clearly explains key issues in moral theory and is highly recommended..." Library Journal

"[P]ondering the ethics of relationships in an increasingly connected world can be a rewarding as well as challenging task. Cosmopolitanism provides valuable starting points for taking on that task." Dallas Morning News

"Appiah's new book, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers...urges a pragmatic sociability on people who ordinarily manage encounters with their neighbors through guarded gates, blocked phone numbers and tinted car windows..." Los Angeles Times

Reviving the ancient philosophy of "Cosmopolitanism," a school of thought that dates to the Cynics of the fourth century BCE, Appiah traces its influence through history to show how Western intellectuals and leaders have wildly exaggerated the power of difference--and neglected the power of one.

Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at Princeton University, was raised in Ghana and educated at Clare College, Cambridge. His books include In My Father's House, Thinking It Through, and The Ethics of Identity. With Henry Louis Gates Jr. he is the editor of Africana.