Abstract

Anthony Kwame Appiah is an internationally renowned philosopher who has worked on the philosophy of language, political and moral theory, African intellectual history and cosmopolitanism, with a particular interest in the theme of identity. He has held prominent positions and received numerous important awards; he has also dedicated himself to an intense activity of dissemination, giving countless lectures and collaborating with a number of newspapers, such as the BBC at which in 2016 he gave the Reith Lectures on the theme of identity and the New York Times Magazine where, as a columnist, he reasons about the ethical dilemmas that can arise in everyday life. In Italy he has published Cosmopolitismo. L’etica in un mondo di estranei (2007), Il codice d’onore. Come cambia la morale (2011), La menzogna dell’identità (2019). In this interview, given in July 2021, he explains his conception of cosmopolitanism, which he named “rooted or patriotic”, and from this perspective addresses the topics of migration, cosmopolitan education and practice, ‘cancel culture’ and freedom of expression.