Cosmos And Hearth

In this meditation on the difficult choices facing humanity in the next millenium, the author reaffirms his faith in the value of a cosmopolitan world view. He argues that "cosmos" and "hearth" are two scales that anchor what it means to be fully and happily human. Hearth is our house and neighbourhood, family and kinsfolk, habit and custom. Cosmos, by contrast, is the larger reality beyond - "world", "civilization" and "humankind". Illustrating the importance of both cosmos and hearth with examples from traditional China and the modern United States, the author concludes that the universal ideals of enlightenment, an attribute of the cosmic viewpoint of both East and West, can still inspire us with their characteristics.