Your detailed and thorough post due by Wednesday@MIDNIGHT for full credit (A). Partial credit (C) can be earned by posting late, which is better than a ZERO.
Remember, weekly blogging is worth 1/3 of your entire semester grade.
Be sure to communicate with Dr. W as needed - rob.williams@madriver.com.
Read and blog COSMOPOLITANISM, Chapters 9-10.
2) EVIDENCE: Post and number THREE specific observations from EACH CHAPTER of our reading(s) that supports your thesis.
Use 2-3 sentences for each observation, and combine direct quotations from the text (AUTHOR's LAST NAME, 27), with IYOW analysis.
3) QUESTION: Include in your post a SINGLE SPECIFIC question you'd ask the class based on our readings.
1) THESIS:
ReplyDeleteChapter 9: Religious extremism is due to misinterpretations of values and religions, which can result in violence.
Chapter 10: Morality and someone’s duties to others varies from person to person based on their values, and cosmopolitans should be more aware of these issues.
2) EVIDENCE:
Chapter 9:
- Appiah opens this chapter speaking about religious extremists, specifically the Muslim Ummah. “Their rejection of traditional religious authorities and their reliance on their own interpretations of the Koran and traditions of their faith” is similar to other extremist Christian groups (Appiah, 139). These groups often put on a face of worldly concern, as they communicate predominantly English and attempt to learn about other cultures.
- While many muslim extremists are assumed to be anyone living as a minority, one-third of muslims worldwide are living as a minority in their countries (Appiah, 139). These people practice their religion with a sense of toleration and cosmopolitanism. “Universalism without toleration,” explains Appiah, “it’s clear, turns easily to murder” (140).
- Appiah also explores the compulsion of religion - either our ability to practice or not practice, and how we interact with others. The Koran says people are free to practice any religion, and Appiah explains that it is up to practitioners how they intercept and determine “what their banners mean” (147-150).
Chapter 10:
- Most of Chapter 10 focuses on the morality of people. Appiah uses multiple examples such as a drowning child and starving children to illustrate how people will contemplate “doing a great wrong for a small benefit” (157).
- Cosmopolitans obviously recognize that they must help those who need it. “Cosmopolitans, more than anyone else,” explain Appiah, that what we owe to others will have to address values we hold (165).
- Appiah also examines human rights and how people should recognize each other’s rights to certain things. This should motivate us in the examples listed previously in the chapter. He explains, “To recognize that everybody is entitled, where possible, to have their basic needs met, to exercise certain human capabilities, and to be protected from certain harms, is not yet to say how all these things are to be assured” (163).
3) QUESTION: Appiah explains how conversations are taking place to address issues like global poverty, but not much is being done. Is this an issue of all people not addressing the issue, or that funds/attention aren’t being allocated properly?
Chapter Nine
ReplyDeleteThesis: Groups can have a sense of unity but go about it in a way in which can’t be considered cosmopolitan.
“Counter-cosmopolitans” exist, people who believe there is a certain way to live life and all those who don’t abide are simply wrong. This is similar to some radical/fundamental religions in which there is a belief about “the right way” to life. This is in exact contrast to cosmopolitanism where there’s more understanding of multiple lifestyles and perspectives and a greater sense of learning about them.
We see this specifically with Christian religious warfare in Europe within history. “the universalist principle un roi, une foi, une loi (one king, one faith, one law) underlay the French Wars of Religion that bloodied the four decades before the Edict of Nantes of 1598...”
With a cosmopolitan perspective, there is little absolute truths that guide the movement, this isn’t the case for a lot of these religions/movements. A sense of tolerance is established but only for select aspects of life. Radical Islams are happy to tolerate the make of one’s hijab but who needs to wear it isn’t a question. Cosmopolitans understand that there are many values worth living by and one cannot live by all of them. With this, we expect differences among society and cultures and embrace them.
Chapter Ten
Thesis: Things are often not as black and white as they seem, especially when people are involved.
The shallow pond argument consists of a child that is drowning in a shallow pond. Shouldn’t anyone who is capable of saving the child do exactly that? This argument doesn’t take into account a lot of aspects that Appiah outlines, such as what if the potential savior is wearing an expensive suit, that would later be sold and donated, saving many more children.
We can relate this aspect to life and the duty that we have for each other. In the previous chapter we learned that people value other people differently depending on a bunch of different aspects. Even in a world of complete cosmopolitanism, we have to understand that although this great moral deed is in front of us there is more to it than just the deed and the individuals, but outside factors as well that may sway what seemed like a simple moral answer to something much more complex.
I was really interested in the argument that its okay to go to the opera and spend money doing so, money that could be used for donating to a good cause, etc. It doesn’t make sense to sacrifice basically all we have to save the poor, as it's counter intuitive. “You are not killing anyone by going to the opera” is an excellent point.
Question: What's the biggest factor when it comes to lack of communication between people, cultures, or even countries.
Thesis)
ReplyDeleteChapter 9: While cosmopolitanism calls for unity, there are groups of counter cosmopolitans who’s rhetoric promotes unity in an ultimately negative way.
Chapter 10: What someone defines as morally ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ varies based on the culture and background of the individual.
Evidence)
Chapter 9:
“Roy calls them the “radical neofundamentalists”-who want to turn jihad, interpreted as literal warfare against the West, into the sixth pillar of Islam. But there are fundamentalists whose aversion to terrorism and violence is as profound as bin Laden’s dedication to it.” (Appiah, 140). While groups such as Al-Qeada preach unity paired with their radical rhetoric, these groups should not be considered cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitanism calls for individuals to understand and accept one another, it does not call for unity through violence.
“What is happening within Islam, especially outside the Muslim countries, is parallel to similar phenomena that are going on among the Christians next door. We see, as Roy observes, the same “quest for a universal community beyond cultures and nations” ; and in both cases a “move toward the individualization of religion.” (Appiah, 140). The idea of a universal community beyond cultures and nations would appear to be an admirable goal. However this cannot be achieved through a violent manor, so the distinction between counter-cosmopolitans and cosmopolitans.
“Intolerance of religious difference in the Christian world is not, I hasten to say, only a thing of the past. Many American Christians believe that atheists, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and the rest will go to hell unless they accept Jesus Christ.” (Appiah, 141). Counter-cosmopolitans are not only found in one specific group of individuals, they come from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures. However, these individuals should not be mistaken with actual cosmopolitans due to their ultimately flawed rhetoric.
Chapter 10:
“If you start with this thought, you will naturally ask whether cosmopolitan talk of what we owe to strangers is likely to remain a sonorous abstraction. “Cosmopolitanism as an ethical commitment strains to extend our concrete realities to include some distant and generalized ‘others’ who, we are told, are our global neighbours.”. (Appiah, 157). While we are told to accept our global neighbours their are some individuals who objectively do not feel the same way. Morality is often at the discretion of the individual, what they deem as morally acceptable and unacceptable largely depends on their upbringing and environment.
“A genuinely cosmopolitan response begins with caring to try to understand why that child is dying. Cosmopolitanism is about intelligence and curiosity as well as engagement. It requires knowing that policies that I might have supported because they protect jobs in my state or region are part of the answer.” (Appiah, 168).
“We would have, for the first time, a concrete indication of how many people in the United States care enough about foreign aid to be willing explicitly to divert some of their tax dollars to it. Our initial assumption is that more aid is a good thing. This proposal would, if nothing else, enable us to know how many people agree with us”. (Appiah, 173).
Question:
What would be the best way to encourage more conversations between cultures about global issues?
1) THESIS:
ReplyDeleteCH 9:
-Believing that there is only one correct belief or religion will only result in violence and is counter-cosmopolitanism.
CH 10:
-People are going to have different outlooks on what is correct and what isn’t, let them.
2) EVIDENCE:
CH 9:
-“What distinguishes the neofundamentalists, violent or not, is that they exemplify the possibility of a kind of universal ethics that inverts the picture of cosmopolitanism I’ve been elaborating. Universalism without toleration, it’s clear, turns easily to murder” (Appiah, 140). Think about how many wars began because of religious disagreements. The world needs to understand that it is okay to agree to disagree.
-Every person is living their own life. Counter-cosmopolitanism is “insisting on one vision of universal truth could only lead the world back to the bloodbaths” (Appiah, 141). This does not respect that people have the ability to make their own choices, dections, beliefs, and actions.
-“These counter-cosmopolitans do think that there is one right way for all human beings to live” (Appiah, 144). Appiah, cosmopolitanisms, understand that there are things to learn from misunderstanding or disagreements.
CH 10:
-Appiah says that leaving the child to drown would be a better situation than getting the suit dirty because it wouldn’t be able to sell for as much “if this kid right here has to drown for me to save my suit for sale so I can save , say ninety other children, so be it” (Appiah, 161). However, why buy the expensive suit in the first place? He could have just put that money into doing something better so I happen to disagree with Appiah. You also never know where your money always ends up but if you personally help someone in real life, that is more effective than sending money somewhere in hopes of saving a bunch of people. I could be ignorant and just do not understand this situation so please correct my viewpoint if I am missing something.
-“Death isn’t the only thing that matters. What matters is decent lives” (Appiah, 167). There is always going to be a worse problem to fix in life. We can’t save every human being on our own.
-“If you can prevent something bad from happening at the cost of something less bad, you ought to do it” (Appiah, 160). School is draining my life this week… doing something less bad would be letting me go to bed rather than doing my homework.
3) QUESTION:
-Do you agree with Appiah on letting the person suffer or die, or would you save someone from drowning?
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ReplyDeleteChapter 9 Thesis:
ReplyDeleteThrough misinterpretations of religions, groups of people can end up countering cosmopolitanism.
Chapter 9 Evidence:
-"The Ummah's new globalists consider that they have returned to the fundamentals of Islam", they think that what is mainly being practiced today is a sham and they want to push their own interpretations (139-140).
- It appears as if they want to go about this in a violent matter as well. Some of these neo fundamentalists, known as "radical neofundamentalists", want to turn Jihad and have literal warfare against the west. Not only is it anti cosmopolitanism, it also goes against what other fundamentalists beliefs(140).
- These problems exist everywhere as well in the current day. Many "American Christians" often believe that those who do not follow the teachings of Jesus Christ will end up in Hell. These people not only want to convert others, but even government organizations.
Chapter 10 thesis:
There is no one correct way to look at things, people are going to have their own opinions on everything.
Chapter 10 evidence:
- When dealing with questions of morality, not everyone will come to a consensus. One of these many ways is through either, "Doing a great wrong for a small benefit" or a "Small wrong for a great benefit" (157)
- "People have needs- health, food, shelter, education - that must be met if they are to lead decent lives". They need to make decisions in their own lives, which often some would disagree with, but we need to recognize that everybody is entitled to have their basic needs met (163)
- "You are not killing anyone by going to the opera", just because you are pursuing your own wants, doesnt make you a bad person
Question:
Why, despite conversations being had, are changes not occurring? Is there anything we can do make these conversations better and result in change?
Chapter 9
ReplyDeleteThesis: Counter Cosmopolitans believes in the idea of unity in a different light than cosmopolitans do.
Evidence:
Cosmopolitans would believe something as “it is not skepticism about the very idea of truth that guides us; is realism about how hard the truth is to find” (144).
Neo Fundamentalists or Counter Cosmopolitans “exemplify the possibility of a kind of universal ethics hat inverts the picture of cosmopolitanism” (140).
“It is not that they don’t matter; its that they have earned our hatred or contempt” (152). I found this to be a powerful quote when discussing groups we may not identify, it’s that we grow up believing a certain way about that group.
Chapter 10
Thesis: Our moral obligations vary from culture to culture, there is no right or wrong way to go about a situation.
Evidence:
“The seeming moderation of the principle hides a powerful claim: it;s really a way of saying you should do the most you can to minimize the amount of badness in the world” (161)
“All values are measurable in a single thing currency of goodness and badness” (166). It’s also important that different values may measure differently in goodness or badness depending on that culture.
“A genuinely cosmopolitan response begins with coming to try to understand why that child is dying” (168). It’s not just about thinking the aftermath about a situation, it’s also about trying to understand why this happened and how to prevent it from happening again.
Question:
Will there ever be a time in the future that different cultures will have the same definition/idea of goodness and badness because of our globalized world?
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThesis
ReplyDeleteChapter 9: There are many different religions which are are valued, because of the great value on religion if one is misinterpreted conflict will arise.
Chapter 10: What is morally right and wrong is examined and decided differently between individuals and societies.
Evidence
Chapter 9:
“So they should not be confused with those other Muslims—Roy calls them the “radical neofundamentalists”—who want to turn jihad, interpreted as literal warfare against the West, into the sixth pillar of Islam. But there are fundamentalists whose aversion to terrorism and violence is as profound as bin Ladin’s dedication to it” (Pg 140, Appiah). Manny people name all Muslims terrorist, this statement is far from the truth just because some terrorist happen to practice the Muslim religon dose not mean that every one who is Muslim is a tirrost.
“Many American Christians believe that atheists, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and the rest will go to hell unless they accept Jesus Christ. There are Protestants who think this about other Protestants; some who think it about Catholics and, no doubt, vice versa. This is a view that can, perhaps, be held with a compassion that will lead you to want to convert those whose eternal fates hang so precariously in the balance; but it is not one that necessarily leads to respect for those who are living in error” (Pg 141, Appiah). Regions believe that other religions are going to Hell because of there way of thinking about their religion. This is all just one big skeem to get people to change their religion and join the one not going to Hell, it's one big scare tactic.
“One of them is surely that very few Christians see Islam as posing a threat to their way of life. Why many Muslims do feel that Christians are still engaged in a crusade against them is a complicated question” (Pg 143, Appiah). Some religions intimidate other religions and even make them scared for their safety all because of stereotypes the religions beliefs about the other.
Chapter 10:
“Smith asks whether we would contemplate doing a great wrong for a small benefit; Rastignac has us wondering whether we would do a lesser wrong for a very great benefit” (Pg 157, Appiah). Depending on who you ask, you will get different responses to this question because we all have a different way of thinking and different morals we follow.
“Though the injury isn’t life threatening, he’ll lose his foot if you don’t take him to the hospital. There’s nobody else around. Wouldn’t you do it, even though the bleeding from his wound would ruin the leather seat?” (Pg 159, Appiah). Although this is an easy decision for some people to make it may be hard for others depending on what morals you hold.
“No decent person will want to conclude that not muddying my trousers justifies let-ting a child drown, not even if my suit was hand-tailored in mohair in Savile Row. But to go anywhere with this judgment about a particular case, you have to draw a moral; and clearly how far you can get will depend on exactly which moral you draw” (Pg 160, Appiah). For most people it's not hard to decipher right from wrong in life threatening situation, when it is smaller things like finding money on the ground and debating on turning it in or not is another story that become harder to judge.
Question: Who is to say our morals are the right morals how do we truly know what’s right from wrong?
Chapter #9:
ReplyDelete1) Failing to acknowledge that there is more than one religion or belief will only lead to negative consequences for everyone.
2)(a) Failure to accept that there are multiple religions and beliefs can often lead to violence. “Universalism without toleration, it’s clear, turns easily to murder” (Appiah 140).
(b) Accepting that there are multiple religions and beliefs does not mean that you have to abandon all of your own beliefs. “There are limits to cosmopolitan tolerance. We will sometimes want to intervene in other places, because what is going on there violates our fundamental principles so deeply…Toleration requires a concept of the intolerable” (Appiah 144).
(c) It is not enough to simply acknowledge that there are multiple religions and beliefs, but you must also see the value in it. “The real challenge to cosmopolitanism isn’t the belief that other people don’t matter at all; it’s the belief that they don’t matter very much” (Appiah 153).
Chapter #10:
ReplyDelete1) Everyone has different morals and puts different values on things, and it is impossible to come to a consensus. However, it is important that everyone agrees that they have some sort of obligation, whatever that may be, to ensure that everyone’s basic human rights are met, near and far.
2)(a) Nation-states have an obligation, in and on themselves, to ensure that everyone’s basic human rights are met both within their own nation-states and within others. “Accepting the nation-state means accepting that we have a special responsibility for the life and the justice of our own; but we still have to play our part in ensuring that all states respect the rights and meet the needs of their citizens” (Appiah 163).
(b) It is not up to one individual or one nation-state to meet everyone’s basic human rights. “Our obligation is not to carry the whole burden alone. Each of us should do our fair share; but we cannot be required to do more” (Appiah 164).
(c) In fulfilling our obligations to those in the global community, we cannot forgo the obligations we have to ourselves and those closest to us. “Whatever our basic obligations, they must be consistent with our being, as I said at the beginning, partial to those closest to us; to our families, our friends, our nations; to the many groups that call upon us through our identities, chosen and unchosen; and, of course to ourselves. Whatever my basic obligations are to the poor far away, they cannot be enough, I believe to trump my concerns for my family, my friends, my country; nor can an argument that every life matters require me to be indifferent to the fact that one of those lives is mine” (Appiah 165).
3) How should “fair-share” be decided? (I.e., do developed nations have a greater obligation than developing nations or is divided equally among all nations?”
Thesis 9: Counter-Cosmopolitans and Cosmopolitans have cause violence on the misinterpretation religions and beliefs.
ReplyDelete" We will sometimes want to intervene in other places, because what is going on there violates our fundamental principles so deeply. We, too, can see moral error. And when it is serious enough-genocide is the uncontroversial case- we will not stop with conversation." (144)
"The Cosmopolitan may be happy to abide by the Golden Rule about doing onto others (putting aside, for the moment, the conceptual problems of "universalizability" I discussed earlier). But cosmopolitans care if those others don't want to be done unto as I would be done unto." (145)
"The fear of conversation here is evidently propelled by a concern that exchanges with people of different views could lead the faithful astray."(146)
Thesis 10: Individuals from different cultures are allows to have opposed opinions on what is "right" and what is "wrong", it's all about understanding the difference.
"Smith asks whether we would contemplate doing a great wrong for a small benefit; Rastignac has us wondering whether we would do a lesser wrong for a very great benefit."(157)
"The child's drowning is bad; getting your suit dirty is much less bad. All this I grant. But does our moral response to the drowning child really entail giving away all our worldly wealth?"(160)
"...Even if we could get everyone to agree on the virtues of the plan; and even if we could determine how each of us, depending on our resources, should contribute his or her fair share, we can be prety confident that some people would not five their fair share."(164)