"But what's wanted, as Adam Smith would have anticipated, is the exercise of reason, not just explosions of feeling"(p. 170).
Adam Smith is a Scottish philosopher who questioned basic human morality in an attempt to figure out our obligations to strangers. He suggests that we cannot attempt to give the same amount of attention and care to everyone at once, because the demands would be impracticable. In this section of the book, Appiah also discusses the importance and the affects of reason when it is exercised by cosmopolitanists. He specifically alludes to Adam Smith when talking about how to donate to world charities affectively. Ultimately what he is truly trying to say is that cosmopolitanists don't just think that respecting differences is important, but how you react to them is also important. Since it is possible, we should all act to get rid of extreme poverty(the kind that kills and takes the meaning out of lives) by giving our fair share of "entitlements"(p. 164).
In my time here, I have been trying to be more involved with the things that I am interested in. I look forward to diving deeper into activities on campus that will put me in a place to interact with people who have had experiences with the Japanese culture, so that I can finally immerse myself when I visit Japan and have the opportunity to learn about the country, the people, and their culture for myself. Since there are so many opportunities here, I have been jumping at them as soon as they arise, talking to people from Japan, joining the Japanese culture club, and planning to go abroad. By being involved, I know that one day I will have the opportunity to see and experience Japan for myself and I will be able to fulfill at least one of my life's goals, because I will know where to look and I will be better prepared. And isn't it better to have developed a repect for another culture by having actively participated in activities that taught about that culture and the people that follow it?
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