Cosmopolitanism and What it Means to be Human: Rethinking Ancient and Modern Views on Discerning Humanity

This paper takes a conceptual look at cosmopolitanism and the related issue of what it means to be human in order to arrive at an alternative conceptual framework which is free from empiricist assumptions. With reference to a discussion on Homer’s Iliad , the author develops a ‘humanist’ model of di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhilosophia (Ramat Gan) Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 107 - 129
Main Author Yan, Hektor K. T.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 2010
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Definitions
Education
Epistemology
Ethics
General philosophy. Metaphysics
Philosophy
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy of Science
Political science
Social sciences
Cosmopolitanism
Homer
Nussbaum
Racism
Empiricism
Wittgenstein
Ontology
Humanity
Cosmopolitism
Signification;Meaning
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Summary:This paper takes a conceptual look at cosmopolitanism and the related issue of what it means to be human in order to arrive at an alternative conceptual framework which is free from empiricist assumptions. With reference to a discussion on Homer’s Iliad , the author develops a ‘humanist’ model of discerning humanity. This model is then compared and contrasted with Martha Nussbaum’s version of cosmopolitanism. The notion of ‘aspect-seeing’ discussed by Wittgenstein in the second part of the Philosophical Investigations is also examined in order to shed light on what it involves to discern humanity. Finally, racism is discussed from the philosophical perspective elaborated in order to highlight its distinctive conceptual features. It is hoped that this paper can refocus our attention on important issues concerning the basis of what it means to see human beings as human beings.
ISSN:0048-3893
1574-9274
DOI:10.1007/s11406-009-9185-5