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World Citizen We are all citizens of this world, but few people recognize this. More people group themselves with the nation they grew up in causing segregation within the overall world community. In Martha Nussbaum’s piece titled “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism,” she describes her philosophy behind citizen’s world vs nationality mindset, and the benefits that could come from being more involved as a world citizen. Nussbaum defined a cosmopolitan as one whose allegiance is to the worldwide community rather than simply the nation of their origin. Nussbaum’s use of logos and ethos throughout her piece strongly expressed how powerfully she feels towards this change.
Nussbaum backs up her argument about cosmopolitanism by citing the discussion
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Cosmopolitanism is one of those, and it has its roots in ancient political thought. Nussbaum pulls her dictum for cosmopolitanism from the Cynic philosopher Diogenes who stated: “I am a citizen of the world” (668). This lone statement defines cosmopolitism, for Diogenes definitively “insisted on defining himself in terms of more universal aspirations and concerns” (Nussbaum 668), which started a revolution-type thought adjustment of the Stoics who followed him. The soul of Stoicism is the notion that the only thing we can alter is the attitude we have towards the world around us. Nussbaum is strongly influenced by these Stoic perspectives when she argues that becoming a world citizen does not inevitably mean resigning your native or local self, identities, or beliefs. “[L]ocal identifications” (Nussbaum 669) certainly outline definite features of human personality that inevitably influence our interaction with others around us. However, individual’s primary moral attention remains on interconnecting the values that we have to ensure that any cultural differences don’t overtake the universal set of principles that identify the standard conduct. These Stoics used “concentric circles” (Nussbaum 669) to show the different types of affiliations that one should have; starting with “self; the next takes in one’s immediate family; then follows the extended family; then, in order, one’s neighbors or …show more content…
This relationship, according to Nussbaum, draws on the lineage of Western philosophical intellectual traditions from Socrates concept of “the examined life” (Nussbaum 614) and Aristotle’s notion of reflective citizenship to Greek, Roman and Stoic models of liberal education. In her view, liberal education is a liberator of minds from the “bondage of habit and custom” (Nussbaum 614) and thus provides an educational vehicle capable of producing students whose sensibilities and rationality are consistent with that required by a cosmopolitan citizenry. Nussbaum argues that liberal education is most fully developed in the US where critical reflection on cultural values and national policy is a standard part of the learning experience. However, she warns that this does not mean the ideal of a liberal education that produces cosmopolitan citizens has been achieved, but rather if there is an education system capable of achieving this ideal, it is the US liberal education system backed by the nation’s liberal
In the essay “Don’t Neglect the Little Platoon,” Michael W. McConnell defends the following thesis: Children who have the most respect for other cultures, and the highest attachment to their own, will not learn this through abstract cosmopolitanism. Rather the best form of moral education, is taught through learning to love the good in relationships and small communities. Expanding until you have love for your nation, and from there it is then possible to love the similarities other nations and cultures have to your own.
In Chapter 2 of In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed Zakaria titled “A Brief History of Liberal Education” Zakaria does just that he begins chapter 2 giving a history lesson on the history of liberal education. From its beginning in Ancient Greece, where lessons consisted of the studying of Homeric poetry to codes, values, and physical training. In the start, the people of Greece did not like the need for this liberal education. Zakaria talks about how Plato and Isocrates both had different outlooks on what should be taught. Plato “considered education a search for truth.” (Pg42) Where Isocrates believed that studying rhetoric, language, and morality (Pg43). Zakaria also talks about the liberal education in the Roman empire along with
In ancient civilization, a liberal arts education was considered essential for free people to take place in civic life; without them people would not be willing to disregard one's traditional values, and analyze a broad variety of arts, humanities, and sciences to create new opinions and ideas. In the 21st century many Americans are doubtful that liberal arts degrees are actually worth the cost of college. In his essay “The New Liberal Arts”, Sanford J. Ungar discusses seven “misconceptions” of liberal arts degrees in modern-day America.
If they are taught correctly, liberal arts classes have the potential to help “students cross social boundaries in their imaginations. Studying a common core of learning will help orient them to common tasks as citizens; it will challenge or bolster… their views and, in any case, help them understand why not everyone in the world (or in their classroom) agrees with them,” explains Gitlin in his article “The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut.” By exposing students to this in high school, they will be more prepared when this moment occurs in their careers. I, along with many students throughout the country, have been exposed to incorrectly-taught liberal arts classes. Students taking English, for instance, must read specific novels while assessing a theme that is already pointed out to them. Then, they must answer a question that has only two answers. This type of curriculum not only eliminates the development of opinions, but it keeps the students from being exposed to most of the author's beliefs and the author’s point of view, which is the main purpose of liberal arts classes. Without this exposure, students are left incapable of working with others and accepting their opinions in order to develop solutions to
In Nussbaum’s article I have a problem with the unrealistic goal of universal cosmopolitanism, as it is impossible for an individual to think of themself fully a citizen of the world. A sense of home identification will always linger as no one feels welcome or is welcomed in every nation or community on earth. It is impossible to make a patriotic person non patriotic as no one person has had the exact same
Have you ever read something and thought “What a bunch of crap”? Well that’s the reaction I had to reading Fareed Zakaria’s book, In Defense Of a Liberal Education. Over the course of the book, Zakaria makes the argument that attending college with the specific intention to get trained for a job is “Short sighted and needlessly limiting”. Zakaria also breaks down the differences between the United State’s education system with other countries across the globe. By attending college with the intention of receiving critical thinking skills and being able to express our ideas, rather than just going to train for a job, Zakaria believes that the average student would be much better off in the world after they graduate.
In modern times, the importance of liberal arts is questioned. The article “Myth: A Liberal Arts Education is Becoming Irrelevant” by Carol T. Christ makes the argument that a liberal arts education provides a broader range of knowledge which is useful because it produces a critically thinking student. Obtaining a career is the main focus of college education. Knowing this, Christ emphasizes how a liberal arts education is useful when looking for employment. She refutes the conception that a liberal arts education is irrelevant in today’s society by identifying the useful qualities it provides the employers look for such as, “Flexibility, creativity, critical thinking, strong communication skills (particulary writing)” (Christ,
In Outside In, Paula Fass asserts that the form and function American education has been determined by the equilibrium between two predominate goals and ideals of education— to create a unified society with common values and beliefs (ecclesiastical objective) and to nurture the individual potential of each student by observing the individual needs and desires that students bring to public instruction (liberal objective). . The author aims to illuminate the tension that exists today between these two objectives by exploring how American education served “the other” throughout the first half of the twentieth century.
“A high school graduate who has acquired Hirsch’s core knowledge will know, for example, that John Stuart Mill was an important 19th-century English Philosopher who was associated with something called Utilitarianism and wrote a famous book called On Liberty. But learning philosophy in college, which is and essential component of a liberal education, means that the student has to be able to read and understand the actual text of On Liberty”. (Murray
Mark Edmundson’s Essay, On the uses of a liberal education, links a fundamental systemic flaw in post-modern education, a lack of student desire to learn, both about personal and the worldly, through study, education, self betterment, and reflection, with American Consumerism. Edmundson does so by depicting the students as customers; shopping for the easiest, highest ranking, and most “entertaining” return on their investment. However, Edmundson places too high a degree of blame on Millennial Consumerist Culture, rather than examining where this desire for a monetary return on investment stems stems from originally. Edmundson, although fully aware of the cultural dynamic shared amongst many, if not all, paying college students, never raises
Brookes, Julian. "Cosmopolitanism: How To Be a Citizen of the World." Mother Jones. N.p., 23 Feb. 2006. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
In recent years, many have debated whether or not a college education is a necessary requirement to succeed in the field of a persons’ choice and become an outstanding person in society. On one hand, some say college is very important because one must contribute to society. The essay Three Reasons College Still Matters by Andrew Delbanco shows three main reasons that students should receive their bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, many question the point of wasting millions of dollars on four years or maybe more to fight for highly competitive jobs that one might not get. Louis Menand wrote an article based on education titled Re-Imagining Liberal Education. This article challenges the main thought many americans have after receiving a secondary education. Louis Menand better illustrates the reasons why a student should rethink receiving a post secondary education better than Andrew Delbanco’s three reasons to continue a person’s education.
Sanford J. Ungar, a journalist and president of Goucher College, is one of those faculty members actively trying to disprove the accusations against liberal arts colleges and educations. In his February 2010 article from the academic journal The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ungar gives readers many examples of common misunderstandings about liberal arts and then informs them why those examples are incorrect. Appropriately titled, Ungar’s “7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts” is an easy go to guide when a person wants to learn more about liberal arts. These readers, mainly students and parents looking towards a higher degree of education, can read Ungar’s essay and find new knowledge about the liberal arts discipline.
The most important value of nationalism to democracy lies in the fact that it has the capacity to unite individual citizens into a single entity with shared beliefs. Democracy requires a definition of demos or who are included in the game and who are not (Nodia 6). Wherever the boundaries of the playing field are in dispute, democratic institutions (such as participation, representation, or cooperation) simply cannot function. Thus, for democracy to o...
Our society so values education that sociologists have recognized the problem of "over-education" (Hadjicostandi). Many people are spending years pursuing degrees which they simply do not need for the jobs they perform. It is therefore prudent for students to question whether pursuing a liberal education is really as important as our society believes. What is the point of a college education? Does it have any purpose beyond its material benefits. Are these benefits worth their cost? These are important questions that need answering. In the end, we may see that there is far more to this debate than simple accounting. Perhaps what makes education worth pursuing is that it gives us the freedom to makes these kinds of decisions about what is best for us.