Descriere
“Profound, beautifully written, and inspiring. It proves that Nussbaum deserves her reputation as one of the greatest modern philosophers.”
―Globe and Mail
“At a time of growing national chauvinism, Martha Nussbaum’s excellent restatement of the cosmopolitan tradition is a welcome and much-needed contribution…Illuminating and thought-provoking.”
―Times Higher Education
“Lucid and accessible…In an age of resurgent nationalism, a study of the idea and ideals of cosmopolitanism is remarkably timely.”
―Ryan Patrick Hanley, Journal of the History of Philosophy
The cosmopolitan political tradition in Western thought begins with the Greek Cynic Diogenes, who, when asked where he came from, responded that he was a citizen of the world. Rather than declaring his lineage, city, social class, or gender, he defined himself as a human being, implicitly asserting the equal worth of all human beings.
Martha Nussbaum pursues this “noble but flawed” vision of world citizenship and confronts its inherent tensions. The insight that politics ought to treat human beings both as equal and as having a worth beyond price is responsible for much that is fine in the modern Western political imagination. Yet given the global prevalence of material want, the lesser social opportunities of people with physical and cognitive disabilities, the conflicting beliefs of a pluralistic society, and the challenge of mass migration and asylum seekers, what political principles should we endorse? The Cosmopolitan Tradition urges us to focus on the humanity we share rather than all that divides us.
A lucid and accessible study of a concept with clear contemporary relevance. In an age of resurgent nationalism, a study of the idea and ideals of cosmopolitanism is remarkably timely.--Ryan Patrick Hanley "Journal of the History of Philosophy" (10/1/2020 12:00:00 AM)
At a time of growing national chauvinism, Martha Nussbaum's excellent restatement of the cosmopolitan tradition is a welcome and much-needed contribution. Masterfully tracing the development of the idea of universal human dignity from antiquity to the present, she highlights the major contributions of this tradition to our thinking about morality and law, while also providing a persuasive critique of its limitations. Her revision of the tradition, articulated here...is illuminating and thought-provoking.--Lior Erez "Times Higher Education" (8/29/2019 12:00:00 AM)
In a penetrating and salient collection of essays, Nussbaum...examines the cosmopolitan tradition and its relationship to the challenges of pluralism and globalism in contemporary life...A timely and insightful analysis of ethical dilemmas.-- "Kirkus Reviews" (7/1/2019 12:00:00 AM)
Profound, eautifully written, and inspiring. It proves that Nussbaum deserves her reputation as one of the greatest modern philosophers.--Aidan Johnson "Globe and Mail" (9/14/2019 12:00:00 AM)
