'I am a citizen of the world'

"[Diogenes unseemly behavior was] to get people to question their prejudices by making them consider how difficult it is to give good reasons for many of our deeply held feelings." -Nussbaum, 57

In chapter 2 of Martha Nussbaum's book Cultivating Humanity, she writes about being citizens of the world; what this title entails, and how to achieve it. She begins by writing about Plato, Aristotle, and their unconventional contemporary Diogenes the Cynic. He provoked behavior in people by spitting in their faces, living in poverty, and eating in public (something only dogs did in their culture). The above quote describes his actions as a way of getting people to rethink what they thought was strange and why exactly they felt that way. When asked where he was from, Diogenes told them he was a 'citizen of the world'.

"When we see in how many different ways people can organize their lives we will recognize what is deep and sallow in our own ways... the only real community is one that embraces the entire world."

-Nussbaum, 58

As people age, we all develop a framework for how we view the world. What is right, what is wrong, what is normal or weird. Part of being a world citizen is learning about other cultural norms and broadening ones view of the world. It fosters respect and understanding. Being educated on ethnic differences can curb hate that breeds in ignorance. However, in learning about various peoples of the globe we can start to question ourselves and why we do things they way we do. This raises the question, is this really the best? Maybe that way of doing this is more efficient? World citizenship leads to ethical inquiry that "requires awareness that life contains other possibilities" (Nussbaum, 54). If we are all critical of our own mannerisms and customs, they can stretch and change as we see them more clearly. Nussbaum writes that Stoics held that thinking about humanity as a whole world is valuable for self-knowledge (59). Ancient Greeks examined customs of faraway countries to better understand their way of life and we, as modern and global citizens should do the same.