Being in the World: Dialogue and Cosmopolis

It is commonly agreed that we live in an age of globalization, but the profound consequences of this development are rarely understood. Usually, globalization is equated with the expansion of economic and financial markets and the proliferation of global networks of communication. In truth, much more is at stake: Traditional concepts of individual and national identity as well as perceived relationships between the self and others are undergoing profound change. Every town has become a potential cosmopolis -- an international city -- affecting the way that people conceptualize the relationship between public order and political practice. In Being in the World, noted political theorist Fred Dallmayr explores the globe's transition from the traditional Westphalian system of states to today's interlocking cosmopolitan network. Drawing upon sacred scriptures as well as the work of ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle and more recent scholars such as Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Raimon Panikkar, this book delves into what Dallmayr calls "being in the world," seen as an aspect of ethical-political engagement. Rather than lamenting current problems, he suggests addressing them through civic education and cosmopolitan citizenship. Dallmayr advocates a politics of the common good, which requires the cultivation of public ethics, open dialogue, and civic responsibility.

About the Author :
Fred Dallmayr is Emeritus Packey J. Dee professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, USA. He is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including In Search of the Good Life: A Pedagogy for Troubled Times and Integral Pluralism: Beyond Culture Wars.

Review :
" Being in the World provides a philosophically grounded, politically sensitive, and multidimensional argument for an ethical engagement with the challenges of the age, especially those generated by the compression of time and space that creates the experience and problems of a globalizing world. Dallmayr is undoubtedly one of the most learned and coherent interpreters of how to live together on the planet in a manner that honors diversity. He writes from a deeply humanist perspective, endowed with the awareness that spirituality is an authentic component of lived experience, and so there is implicit in his work the reconciliation of religion, science, and rationalism." -- Richard A. Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law and Practice, Emeritus, Princeton University "Dallamyr's work is a worthwhile and thoughtful articulation of both the challenges and the inevitability of living togther amid increasing global diversity." -- Choice "Dallmayr shows a far-reaching scholarship: erudite, curious, informed, original. There is no attempt to convince the reader to subscribe to one single view but rather to share with him/her a long and fascinating intellectual journey. Dallmayr follows with passion the voices of cosmopolis from a variety of different locations and different eras." -- Daniele Archibugi, Italian National Research Council and University of London