Week 2: Learning and Teaching Philosophy

The Dower reading for this week was helpful in understanding if global citizenship is actually attainable.  Dower proposed common values for all global citizens. (Dower et al, 2002).

The first common value is global scope of responsibility where it is necessary not to just act according to what is valued but to also provide support to those who promote the values. For instance, I make sure to regularly donate to children’s charities since I believe that all children should have access to clean water, food, shelter etc.

The second value is attitude towards one's society or nation. There are global morals and ethics which we have responsibility to as a global citizen. However, according to Dower this doesn’t imply that we reject the values of our own national communities but it means balancing the two. For example, if there was a crisis in my country I would first donate funds to my country then consider donating to other countries.
 

The third value is that all humans have an equal moral status. All humans have the right to basic necessities such as food, water, shelter. However, I think this is the toughest value to follow as it is impossible to promote these values equally around the world. Although there are difficulties involved in following each of these three values, I think it's important for us as global citizens to be able to realize and share these values.