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pbobrit's review against another edition
4.0
Another good pick for out course. Contemporary philosopher exploring issues of global and local identity.
lizzieh96's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t hate this as much as many of my classmates did. It was pretty interesting. Appiah isn’t in the business of giving answers but into provoking thought about deep questions— what does it mean to be a citizen of the world? How does one do the most good? Saw lots of connections with All American Boys, Happiness, Go Went Gone, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas...also The Good Place which is my new binge show.
kavinay's review against another edition
5.0
There's something really clever going on in Appiah's take on ethics in a global world. He goes out of his way to point out that while the main thrust of his positive argument is "you care about X because your neighbour does" is easy to articulate, it's damn hard to get there in most ethical systems.
I don't think this will appeal or even make sense to anyone interested in defining their identity with nations and states. In many ways, Appiah's moral compass only makes sense in a post-colonial context. If you think some accident of your birth entitles you to a special or nobler moral value then he has nothing to offer you. The very point of Appiah's approach to ethics is to first realize that most of the historical precedents that are pointed to for defining moral identities are themeselves mutable. Judgements aren't static. They change over time and they change dramatically when in contact with the wider world.
Why bother reading this? In a political era where nationalism and populism is surprisingly effective, Appiah points out that the purity of moral identities is fiction. This isn't ivory tower philosophy. It's applied ethics that gets the experience of the world from a non-majority point of view--something that's really hard to find articulated so well in any work on ethics.
I don't think this will appeal or even make sense to anyone interested in defining their identity with nations and states. In many ways, Appiah's moral compass only makes sense in a post-colonial context. If you think some accident of your birth entitles you to a special or nobler moral value then he has nothing to offer you. The very point of Appiah's approach to ethics is to first realize that most of the historical precedents that are pointed to for defining moral identities are themeselves mutable. Judgements aren't static. They change over time and they change dramatically when in contact with the wider world.
Why bother reading this? In a political era where nationalism and populism is surprisingly effective, Appiah points out that the purity of moral identities is fiction. This isn't ivory tower philosophy. It's applied ethics that gets the experience of the world from a non-majority point of view--something that's really hard to find articulated so well in any work on ethics.
jmitch's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting book that asks, and attempts to answer, thoughtful questions about what it means to live in a global society.
Questions like how much should I care for my global neighbors? To what extent should we be tolerant of others views? And what should guide my decision making through those difficult questions?
As it seems like a lot of the problems facing our world today are problems of global significance, I highly recommend those interested in making a different read this book.
Questions like how much should I care for my global neighbors? To what extent should we be tolerant of others views? And what should guide my decision making through those difficult questions?
As it seems like a lot of the problems facing our world today are problems of global significance, I highly recommend those interested in making a different read this book.
marystevens's review against another edition
3.0
Kwame Anthony Appiah says globalization has not brought homogeneity. "No one could say that the world's villages are -or are about to become -anything like the same". Everywhere people prefer local soap operas to American TV even if they do like some other American TV. "You can get Coca Cola on every continent. In Kumasi you will get it at funerals. Not...in the West of England, where hot milky Indian tea is favored." Levi's are everywhere, but they are formal attire in some places and casual wear in others.
Appiah roams through all the philosophical cross cultural issues but he raises more questions than he answers. He also seems to assume that problems will be resolved by the cosmopolitans through national governments. He has no conception of the corporate sponsored race to the bottom or the power of corporations to control the agenda. Of course this was written long before the threats to the open internet that we see today. But that's one example of what's coming with globalization.
Appiah roams through all the philosophical cross cultural issues but he raises more questions than he answers. He also seems to assume that problems will be resolved by the cosmopolitans through national governments. He has no conception of the corporate sponsored race to the bottom or the power of corporations to control the agenda. Of course this was written long before the threats to the open internet that we see today. But that's one example of what's coming with globalization.
abidoodle's review against another edition
3.0
I liked reading this book. It was very thought provoking and provided some really good things to think about. I found it more philosophical arguments and discussion than truly making an argumentative case for cosmopolitanism, but it still clearly advocated for it. I would definitely read through this one with a pen at hand to make some notes! It was a solid read.
exhausted_hedgewitch's review against another edition
I was excited to read this, as it had been recommended to me over and over again. Unfortunately, I found it both weakly argued (as other reviewers have explained at length) and quite dated--it feels very much a product of 2006.* Appiah does gesture to some interesting ideas, but I've find more compelling (and far more nuanced) accounts of, eg, contamination in Anna Tsing's The Mushroom at the End of the World, and obligations in the work of Charles Mills and Paulina Ochoa Espejo.
*E.g.: Appiah relies overmuch on terrorism from the Middle East to inform his examples later in the book, and seems oddly oblivious to the history of structural adjustment and colonialism in his commentary on Peter Singer and Unger. Also, while I can hardly blame him for failing to foresee COVID, the line "would you really want to live in a world in which the only thing anyone had ever cared about was saving lives" (166) hits different in 2021.
*E.g.: Appiah relies overmuch on terrorism from the Middle East to inform his examples later in the book, and seems oddly oblivious to the history of structural adjustment and colonialism in his commentary on Peter Singer and Unger. Also, while I can hardly blame him for failing to foresee COVID, the line "would you really want to live in a world in which the only thing anyone had ever cared about was saving lives" (166) hits different in 2021.