Kwame Anthony Appiah, Reaction Paper Example

Kwame Anthony Appiah is talking about the idea of cosmopolitanism and global culture. He makes the argument that it is when a group is too stuck on culture and patriotism to a government or ideal that it finds fault with other groups or governments, leading to war and violence in human culture. He promotes globalism, world economy and world culture as a way to address the things that makes everyone human, and equal. By becoming more accepting of each other and learning to respect each others ideas and traditions without fear or anger, violence and war would slowly disappear, replaced instead by peace and respect.

The reason why Appiah feels it is so important to address this issue is because of the direction in which humanity is moving and the issues that will need to be addressed in the near future. The human population of the world is the largest it ever has been and is continuing to grow. With boundaries disappearing and world travel increasing people of differing cultures are interacting more and more. Putting aside cultural differences in order to create a more peaceful interaction on a global level is necessary in order for societies to live and work together in a positive way.

Appiah says, “A large part of what we do we do because it is just what we do (Appiah, 65).” Norms are simply habits acquired over time. Our differences lie mainly not in what we do but how we do it. For example, we all learn, but some learn by going to school and some learn by staying at home. While we may not want to change our ways, we can. Many societal taboos have been made the norm because of a change in attitude. Gay and lesbian couples were once a rare sight on city streets because of the social taboo against them. They are now a normal sight because homosexuality has become accepted by society.

The role of a philosopher, Appiah claims, is to introduce into society new ideas and ways of thinking and to question the norm. Humanity today is in need of a  new way of looking at each other and and that is what cosmopolitanism and globalism have to offer.