Abstract

A large number of papers and books on cosmopolitanism have been published since 1990, marking a renewed interest in this field among western scholars. When we try to locate the original source of cosmopolitan ideas in human civilization, we find Chrysippus’ thought in western philosophy, and Confucius’ as its eastern counterpart. In this paper, I offer a comparative analysis on Confucius’ and Chrysippus’ cosmopolitan theories from the following three aspects. I begin with the theoretical origins of the two thinkers on cosmopolitanism, which mainly center on the relationship between human beings and nature in their natural philosophy and on the question of how to be a good man in their moral philosophy. Then, I explain the concrete schemes they posit for a cosmopolitan society. Finally, I compare their different concerns on one’s attitude to family members or fellow citizens, which mark their main points of disagreement. As a conclusion, I propose that both of their ideas can be located under a range of “moral cosmopolitanism”. The difference lies in that while Confucius holds a moderate cosmopolitan idea, Chrysippus prefers a strict version of cosmopolitanism.