So here I was discussing this subject with my English teacher… We came to an agreement that there are people of one country and there are people of the world. For those who do not know, FYI — we’re talking about cosmopolitanism here. The almighty Wikipedia says: Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. <…> Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be “world citizens” in a “universal community”. This is quite a broad description of this notion, however, it has some nuisances.
The story of this idea begins a long time ago, like a really long time ago. Supposedly somewhere in the V century BCE there was this Greek guy — Diogenes. One day he proclaimed that he was the man of the world, and didn’t belong to just one country. The rest of the country thought him to have been a fool, antique fool. Then, later in the Middle Ages, the idea of cosmopolitanism started to be surrounded by religion, like everything in those days. The Pope decided to create a Global Christian Government. How about that? Medieval fools, this time. And only in the Age of Enlightenment, the concept of being a cosmopolitan started to become somewhat positive and clear.
Kant wrote in his “Toward the Perpetual World” that this form of coexisting will liberate the world of wars. He offered all governments to unite and form one huge federation, keeping their sovereignty. In Kant’s vision, all the questions of trade and conflict regulations will be managed by a special commission. Sounds like a fantasy world, doesn’t it?
Fast-forward to XIX — XX centuries, the idea of the person of the world became the one that we know now. Currently, cosmopolitanism is understood as being open-minded and free of all cultural, racial, religious and political prejudices. So, my final question — is it really possible to be a cosmopolitan? Is it humanly possible to be completely free of every prejudice and bias?
I cannot answer this question at the moment, so, to the next point. There’s no tutorial on how to become a cosmopolitan, no YouTube video. But, in my opinion, there are several steps to the process.
- To submerge yourself into as many cultures as possible. The majority of us are operating under a set of beliefs and views that are hardwired. So, research and filter what’s true and what’s false.
- Travelling. In some cases, just reading about something is not enough. Communication is vital and irreplaceable. People are the best sources of information. Furthermore, things you’ll see with your own two eyes won’t lie.
- Languages — a whole world. They are a window into everything. Language Identities, you know?
And that’s it, well, at least that’s my thought process. I do not know if I’m a cosmopolitan, or if I’ll ever be. This whole idea of one world sounds appealing, but if you think about it. There are too many pitfalls that need further explanation.
Thoughts?
