The Construction of the Ideal: Stoic Cosmopolitanism

Cosmopolitanism which is one of the main ideals of Ancient and Enlightenment thought, is still one of the controversial topics of contemporary philosophy and political debates. Today, some of the thinkers who emphasize the tension/reconciliation between universal and local, philanthropy and patriotism, re-express this ancient ideal by adapting it to contemporary conditions; while others think of it as a historical moment, a nostalgia that must be left behind. However, the history of this concept or ideal is rather complex; the subjects filling the position of citizenship have differentiated over the centuries and the meaning of the homeland has changed from one period to another. While cosmopolitanism, rooted in Cynic philosophers, is an ideal first at length established by the Stoics, it has no single meaning even in the thought of this school. This ancient ideal was differentiated throughout the Stoic periods and gained its current meaning only with the late Stoic philosophers. Therefore, this article, which aims to analyze the history of a still-discussed concept by limiting it to a certain period, focuses on the Stoic concept of cosmopolitanism and examines how world it has changed and how it has been grounded as an ideal during the periods of Stoicism.