Features
What can ethical
philosophy teach international educators about
global citizenship?
By Callum Philbin
I
n September 2021, when I started lecturing students on an undergraduate course in international teacher training, I began by asking them to debate whether ‘citizens of the world are citizens of nowhere’. The discussion was passionate, moving across contemporary debates around climate injustice, vaccine ethics and migration. The students were broadly in favour of viewing themselves as global citizens, but were also inclined towards putting their own citizens first when faced with social problems. I asked them to respond to this statement because I think it is arguably the most important question in contemporary political philosophy, and it comes down to whether the next generation of international educators should promote universal ethics or focus on the nation state as the best vehicle for encouraging equality and justice around the world. Thankfully, we already had thousands of years to consider this question. Around 400 BC the philosopher Diogenes, residing in Athens, was asked where he came from, to which he responded: ‘I am a citizen of the world’ (Taylor, 2019). Many might remember Diogenes as the philosopher who lived in a bin (to demonstrate his rejection of materialism), making him not only an early cosmopolitan
but maybe the first performance artist, the Banksy of the ancient world. By rejecting a political membership, Diogenes both exiled himself and simultaneously aligned himself to a more universal human community. Diogenes’ cosmopolitanism was influential at the time, particularly on stoic philosophy. In the teachings and actions of Epicurus, one can see the incipient ideals of international education in Greek antiquity. As early as the fourth century BC Epicurus, the son of a schoolteacher, purchased a plot of land outside Athens and formed a school called ‘The Garden’ (Odell, 2019). Inspired by ideas from Democritus and Pyrrho, who in turn had been influenced by the gymnosophists of India, he developed a school fundamentally different from other schools at the time (ibid). The ethos of Epicurus’ school placed an emphasis on relaxed contemplation as students were encouraged to grow their own food, while theorising how to live a quiet, fulfilling life through simplicity. The school focused on reason for the purpose of self-reflection, and the rejection of excess. There was no competition within the school, as students graded themselves, and a connection with nature was a core part of the programme. However, what was truly revolutionary about this community, and what makes it for me an early iteration of international education, is that it was open to different sexes, races and nationalities, encouraging learning
