The Antinomies of Cosmopolitan Reason

Today, cosmopolitanism sometimes means one thing and sometimes the opposite. I distinguish between three antinomies in contemporary debates: the antinomy of independence, the antinomy of solidarity, and the antinomy of circulation. My thesis is that cosmopolitanism distinguishes a relationship to humanity that starts with its concrete images, its dramaturgical codes, and with the practical margins of maneuver that stem from an overwhelming or transient sentiment of distanciation from the world.