Overview

Beyond Blood Identities uncovers the social psychology of those who hold strong blood identities. In this highly original work, Jason D. Hill argues that strong racial, ethnic and national identities, which he refers to as 'tribal identities,' function according to a separatist logic that does irreparable damage to our moral lives. Drawing on scholarship in philosophy, sociology, and cultural anthropology, Hill contends that strong tribalism is a form of pathology. Beyond Blood Identities shows how a particular understanding of culture could lead to a new theoretical approach to enriched human living. Hill develops a new version of cosmopolitanism that he calls post-human cosmopolitanism to solve a number of challenges in contemporary society. From the problem of defining culture, the failure of multiculturalism, the question of who owns native culture, the identification of Jews as post-human people and the problem of their status as 'chosen people' in a modern world, the author applies a cosmopolitan analysis to some of the major problems in our global and interdependent world. He posits a world in which community has been dispensed with and replaced by its successor term sociality_the broad unmarked space in which creative social intercourse takes place. Hill applies a new cosmopolitanism to ideate a new post-humanity for the twenty-first century.

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Reviews

Jason Hill has established himself as a leading scholar of strong cosmopolitanism. His latest book provides a withering critique of tribalism in its many contemporary forms. He articulates an alternative vision of being at home in the world that will be of interest to all who care about justice and human well-being in our time.--David T. Hansen

This is a compelling read. By subtly weaving real life experiences, including his own, into the fabric of the philosophical arguments, Hill provides a remarkably perceptive and nuanced assault on tribalism, in all its many forms. He breathes life into a version of moral cosmopolitanism by challenging the prevailing and distorting conception of culture, then carefully identifying key cosmopolitan virtues and demonstrating the relevance of his post-human cosmopolitanism to several urgent issues confronting contemporary society. -- John R. Danley, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Jason Hill has established himself as a leading scholar of strong cosmopolitanism. His latest book provides a withering critique of tribalism in its many contemporary forms. He articulates an alternative vision of being at home in the world that will be of interest to all who care about justice and human well-being in our time. -- David T. Hansen, Columbia University this book is an important contribution to the scholarship on cosmopolitanism and furthers the debate over exactly what form this political and moral philosophy should take...Hill's rich book provides an engaging line of argument for strong cosmopolitanism that readers will find at times compelling, shocking, audacious, and rousing...Hill's book challenged many of my assumptions about cultural, ethnic and racial belonging, and the importance of rootedness in a community. it is for this reason that his book is an important contribution to the ongoing debate over exclusion and belonging in the modern world. Philosophy Reviews This book is an important contribution to the scholarship on cosmopolitanism...Hill's rich book provides an engaging line of argument for strong cosmopolitanism that readers will find at times compelling, shocking, audacious, and rousing... His book is an important contribution to the ongoing debate over exclusion and belonging in the modern world, -- Serena Parekh, University of Connecticut Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, June 2010 Beyond Blood Identities is a critique of contemporary pluralism and multi-culturalism. Hill argues that a cosmopolitan should view culture as a variable, without absolute attachment to one's racial, national, or ethnic background. Hill's moral and psychoanalytic analyses of indigenous, white, black, Asian, and Jewish tribal identities will inspire, fascinate, and enrage a wide range of scholars and general readers. -- Naomi Zack

Beyond Blood Identities is a critique of contemporary pluralism and multi-culturalism. Hill argues that a cosmopolitan should view culture as a variable, without absolute attachment to one's racial, national, or ethnic background. Hill's moral and psychoanalytic analyses of indigenous, white, black, Asian, and Jewish tribal identities will inspire, fascinate, and enrage a wide range of scholars and general readers.--Zack, Naomi

This book is an important contribution to the scholarship on cosmopolitanism and furthers the debate over exactly what form this political and moral philosophy should take...Hill's rich book provides an engaging line of argument for strong cosmopolitanism that readers will find ... compelling, shocking, audacious, and rousing...Hill's book [challenges ideas] ... about cultural, ethnic and racial belonging, and the importance of rootedness in a community. It is for this reason that his book is an important contribution to the ongoing debate over exclusion and belonging in the modern world. Philosophy Reviews This is a compelling read. By subtly weaving real life experiences, including his own, into the fabric of the philosophical arguments, Hill provides a remarkably perceptive and nuanced assault on tribalism, in all its many forms. He breathes life into a version of moral cosmopolitanism by challenging the prevailing and distorting conception of culture, then carefully identifying key cosmopolitan virtues and demonstrating the relevance of his post-human cosmopolitanism to several urgent issues confronting contemporary society. -- John R. Danley, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Jason Hill has established himself as a leading scholar of strong cosmopolitanism. His latest book provides a withering critique of tribalism in its many contemporary forms. He articulates an alternative vision of being at home in the world that will be of interest to all who care about justice and human well-being in our time. -- David T. Hansen, Columbia University Beyond Blood Identities is a critique of contemporary pluralism and multi-culturalism. Hill argues that a cosmopolitan should view culture as a variable, without absolute attachment to one's racial, national, or ethnic background. Hill's moral and psychoanalytic analyses of indigenous, white, black, Asian, and Jewish tribal identities will inspire, fascinate, and enrage a wide range of scholars and general readers. -- Naomi Zack, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oregon

Author Information

Jason D. Hill is associate professor of philosophy at De Paul University and the author of Becoming a Cosmopolitan: What It Means to Be Human in the New Millennium.

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