Kant's omnipresence in contemporary cosmopolitan discourses contrasts with the fact that little
is known about the historical origins and the systematic status of his cosmopolitan theory.
This study argues that Kant's cosmopolitanism should be understood as embedded and dynamic.
Inspired by Rousseau Kant developed a form of cosmopolitanism rooted in a modified form of
republican patriotism. In contrast to static forms of cosmopolitanism Kant conceived the
tensions between embedded local attachments and cosmopolitan obligations in dynamic terms. He
posited duties to develop a cosmopolitan disposition (Gesinnung) to establish common laws or
cosmopolitan institutions and to found and promote legal moral and religious communities
which reform themselves in a way that they can pass the test of cosmopolitan universality. This
is the cornerstone of Kant's cosmopolitanism and the key concept is the vocation (Bestimmung)
of the individual as well as of the human species. Since realizing or at least approaching this
vocation is a long-term arduous and slow process Kant turns to the pedagogical implications
of this cosmopolitan project and spells them out in his later writings. This book uncovers
Kant's hidden theory of cosmopolitan education within the framework of his overall practical
philosophy.
