Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers (Issues of Our Time) (Issues of Our Time) (edit title)

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Didn’t Like It Rated 2 stars “frequently very loopy, needlessly so. goes off on weird tangents, does not commit to any position, sits on the fence all the time!” see full review » see other reviews »

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  • Rated 2 stars

  “frequently very loopy, needlessly so. goes off on weird tangents, does not commit to any position, sits on the fence all the time!”

  oiseau_blanc wrote this review Thursday, November 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 0 stars

  “Short book by a Ghanian-American philosophy professor, advocating a kind of pragmatic approach to cross-cultural ethics.
  
  Elegantly written, summarizes the basic issues well, and has a lot of striking examples. The actual philosophy seems a bit nebulous though: it seemed fascinating as I was going along, but as soon as I put the book down I wasn't quite sure what I'd actually learned.
  
  Still, a likeable book and easy to read. ”

  TheophileEscargot wrote this review Friday, April 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 3 stars

  ““Thoroughgoing ignorance about the ways of others is largely a privilege of the powerful.” This is my favorite quote from the book. It is such a powerful eye opener. This statement should make any aspiring cosmopolitan do a self evaluation. I have frequently heard my countrymen referred to as “stupid Americans” while on my travels abroad in the Air Force. I often wondered why this saying was so popular with the locals. But I didn’t have to wonder long. A older, kindly gentleman selling trinkets by the roadside in Honduras was happy to enlighten me. He told me that America was the richest most powerful nation in the world. Americans believe they have no reason to respect or understand any other country’s way of life. I wanted to argue with him, but all I could do was feel ashamed. I had known for two weeks that my squadron would be sending my aircrew to Honduras. My preparation, a 15-minute briefing 3-hours before take-off. So, I overpaid the man for a few trinkets, thanked him for the talk, and left quietly. ”

  DAVETT J wrote this review Sunday, February 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No