Building Cosmopolitan Communities contributes to current cosmopolitanism debates by evaluating the justification and application of norms and human rights in different communitarian settings in order to achieve cosmopolitan ideals. Relying on a critical tradition that spans from Kant to contemporary discourse philosophy, Nascimento proposes the concept of a "multidimensional discourse community." The multidimensional model is applied and tested in various dialogues, resulting in a new cosmopolitan ideal based on a contemporary discursive paradigm. As the first scholarly text to provide an...

This book makes a significant contribution to the on-going international dialogue on the meaning of concepts such as human rights, humanity, and cosmopolitanism. The authors propose a new agenda for research into a Critical Theory of Human Rights. Each chapter pursues three goals: to reconstruct modern philosophical theories that have contributed to our views on human rights; to highlight the importance of humanity and human dignity as a complementary dimension to liberal rights; and, finally, to integrate these issues more directly in contemporary discussions about cosmopolitanism. The...

First published in 1998. The emphasis upon differences, plurality and multiculturalism has led to an outpouring of information that has been interpreted by theories such as pragmatism, communitarianism, feminism, postmodern discourse and liberation ethics. Up to now, these issues have been seen as particular and external objects for theoretical discussion. This book goes to the heart of the matter and opens promising avenues for further philosophical reflection on these topics. Having the conception of communication in discourse theory as point of departure, scholars of distinct philosophical...