Whether in science or in international politics, neutrality has sometimes been promoted, not only as a viable political alternative but as a lofty ideal -- in politics by nations proclaiming their peacefulness, in science as an underpinning of epistemology, in journalism and other intellectual pursuits as a foundation of a professional ethos. Time and again scientists and other intellectuals have claimed their endeavors to be neutral, elevated above the world of partisan conflict and power politics. This volume studies the resonances between neutrality in science and culture and neutrality in...

Ideas in History (ISSN 1890-1832) is the result of collaborative efforts among nearly a dozen universities and colleges throughout the Nordic countries. The purpose of these initiatives is to further awareness of research, resources and activities in the field of intellectual history in the Nordic countries as well as internationally. The journal aims to create a meeting ground for the study of ideas in historical context across disciplinary, geographical and institutional boundaries. Ideas in History welcomes interdisciplinary approaches to intellectual history at the same time it...

Since the Enlightenment, the definition of terms such as humanity, citizenship and rights has fluctuated and these ideas continue to have relevance for contemporary discussions of globalization from a -cosmopolitan- perspective. This volume goes back to the conception of cosmopolitanism in Greek antiquity in order to trace it through history, resulting in an unmasking of its many myths. The concept is reconstructed with reference not only to well-known (and some lesser known) historical thinkers of cosmopolitanism, but also to noted -anti-cosmopolitans-.
The first aim of the book is to...