Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

Abstract

Theoretically speaking, this book finds its conceptual framework in ethical philosophies grouped under the umbrella of cosmopolitanism. This conceptual meditation on cosmopolitanism, however, begins with the presumption that cosmopolitanism is no longer a utopian concept; it has already been achieved (Balibar 2002). The consequences of ‘world unification’, explained by either the impact of rapid technological modernisation or the current domination of neo-capitalism, are clearly visible. Nonetheless, the majority of moral principles on which a utopian cosmopolitanism has been conceived, as a ‘precondition or an immediate consequence’ of humans’ interconnection, has not been implemented (Balibar 2002, p. 149). By bearing in mind Balibar’s observation, my aim in this book is to emphasise the role of filmic images in conceiving and reconfiguring the ethical and socio-political landscape of our time. In this sense, particular film art has the possibility to participate in, if not initiate, a critical dialogue between a cosmopolitan imagination and embodied ethics.