Appiah The Case For Contamination Analysis

The article under consideration, The Case for Contamination, focuses on three interconnected matters, cosmopolitism, cultural assimilation and globalization. Appiah interprets religions as the common ground that brings people together, however that may be. My approach is similar to his in that I too feel that cultural assimilation is not supposed be viewed through religion, but instead supposed to be broken down to the smallest form and viewed through each person that makes up said culture, religion, group, etc. Most notably in this analysis is Appiahs view of cultural assimilation in his own culture. He examines first his country of origin, Asante, Ghana. Although extremely deep rooted in their traditions the people of his land have come …show more content…
Cosmopolitism is the idea that every single human being belongs to the same group with similar ethics in mind. Globalization hinders this idea in the sense that it threatens religions as a whole. With integration of such various cultures and ideas it easy for a person to be overwhelmed by not only their own religious beliefs but those that others have imposed on them. Appiah mentions how his own father ,a loyalist of Ghana, manned the construction of the houses that needed building in his village. He did so not because it was natural instinct but because it was instilled in him that he did not belong to himself but instead to his community. It is here where this instillment of a greater good begins to be clouded by globalization. Appiah did not grow up with the same belief, instead their was a more selfish haze. The times have completely and utterly taken a 360 turn, in that the modernization of culture has allowed for its people to stray away from their traditions of what a community means. Nowadays a person of the same age as his father has an entire realm of possibilities, to travel, to educate themselves, to prosper in ways different from that of bettering the whole of a …show more content…
However, as a modern man he now reflects on these ideas that were fundamental in his development. He has experienced life, he has seen different cultures, he has met exotic people, has been exposed to modern marvels such as cellphones and televesion. Appiah takes a stand in that it is now a new age and however old traditions may be and cultures so set in their ways, it is not fair for any given group people to think that there is one way of living and seeing this ever changing world but instead the coming together and embracing of the melting pot that is Earth is needed in order for their to be peace and congruity. There cannot be a divide between races, sexes and social castes that is justified because of a certain