Cosmopolitanism

Cosmopolitanism, which is becoming an important notion for the understanding of taste and the circulation of commodities, has according to most social theorists its origins in Greek philosophy. The concept refers to ways of knowing the world and the forms of belonging this knowledge generates. The term is comprised of kòsmos (our socially constructed world) and polìtis (the citizen of a pòlis or ancient Greek city-state, the civic organization that exerted influence on European politics). The term resonates with Aristotle's conception of the human as zõon politikòn, a being that exists in relation to others in a polity. It has been suggested that Aristotelian texts are in fact Arab readings of Aristotle subsequently reimported in the West to revive its intellectual traditions. The Stoic teachings, ...