What on Earth is a Citizen of the World?

In the 4th century BCE, Diogenes of Sinope claimed that the whole world was his hometown. Since then, that idea has influenced hundreds of generations of people including figures as diverse as Rumi in 13th century Persia, and Montaigne in 16th century France. Surely Diogenes’ claim was ahead of its time, since up to quite recently, the large majority of people didn’t know about or have the capacity to influence most other people in our “global village.” Today, in a world that is interconnected in so many ways—technically, culturally, economically, ecologically—the idea seems much more apt. But how do we understand the idea of world citizenship in the absence of a global state of which we could literally be citizens?

Speakers

• Cyrus R.K. Patell, Professor of Literature, NYUAD; Professor of English, NYU
• Chiran Raj Pandey, Bachelor of Literature, Class of 2020, NYUAD
• Matthew Silverstein, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, NYUAD
• K. Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law, New York University

Hosted by

• NYU Abu Dhabi Institute