The evolution of cosmopolitanism. Anthropological and political perspectives.

• Applicant: Lorenzo Del Savio, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Practical Philosophy
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 401093960

International law and governance, migration and trade connect an ever extending part of humanity. This extension of cooperative exchanges creates both opportunities for human development and new challenges. Recently, the cosmopolitan project of global cooperation has suffered several setbacks, in the form of re-emerging nationalism, xenophobia, protectionism and restrictive migration policy. Sceptics of the cosmopolitan project argue that such setbacks are not minor obstacles on an otherwise linear trajectory towards global cooperation, but symptoms of a deeper malaise: they argue that the cosmopolitan project has outstripped human dispositions for peaceful cooperation, which are local, tribal and parochial. The behavioural sciences indeed lend credence to the view that human evolved sociality is parochial, i.e. it tends to discriminate against out-groups. However, does this dark side of human sociality really constrain the cosmopolitan project? The critical part of the proposed research aims to debunk this sceptical challenge by engaging with the inferential relationships between behavioural sciences, human evolution and the future of global cooperation. The first key hypothesis of the project is that, although parochial dispositions exist, they are not a hard constraint on the pursuit of the cosmopolitan project. Their existence, however, implies that large-scale cooperation requires an explanation. Studies of cultural evolution in particular have sought explanations of the transition from small tribal groups to large-scale societies. The constructive part of the project will focus on the philosophical implications of scientific theories of human social attitudes that take into account cultural innovation. The second key hypothesis is that recent findings on the emergence of large-scale sociality can complement political theories of cosmopolitanism with viable strategies for implementation, in line with sentimental versions of cosmopolitanism that emphasise the role of political emotions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Privatdozent Dr. Jan-Christoph Heilinger