The concept of Immanuel KANT and his decade of enlightenment was to find a center of thinking beyond the common ethnocentrism. There must be a point in every human being, call it moral, which has a better empathy than the surrounding society or even century. If we listen to our inner voice, connected to this moral of empathy, then we’ll notice: there cannot be an inferior human race or an animal.
Arthur Schopenhauer for sure would add dogs and cats, fishes and birds and all the other souls, which share a short time with us on this globe. The goal of a good education is to make such an empathy strong – even against nations or religions if it is necessary. Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote: “Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.”
P.S.:
inspired by an article of “iceman”:
https://icezine.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/le-blogging-du-dimanche-ethnocentrisme-bien-et-mal/
Flickr Comments 
I adore the French philosophy – from Montaigne to Voltaire, from Camus to Sartre, from Jean Baudrillard to Andre Glucksmann. So I’m proud to find my thoughts translated into French by “iceman”:
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“Le concept d’Emmanuel Kant et sa décennie de l’illumination était de trouver un centre de penser au delà de l’ethnocentrisme. Il doit y avoir un point dans chaque être humain, appelons le morale, qui a une meilleure empathie que la société environnante ou même le siècle. Si nous écoutons notre voix intérieure, reliée à cette morale de l’empathie, alors nous remarquons: il ne peut pas être une race humaine inférieure ou un animal. Schopenhauer aurait ajouter les chiens et les chats, les poissons et les oiseaux et toutes les autres âmes, qui partagent un peu de temps avec nous sur cette planète. L’objectif d’une bonne éducation est de faire d’une telle empathie un élément fort – même contre les nations ou religions si c’est nécessaire.”
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But in France, we had Descartes and it made some enormous mistakes about animals
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I’m sure the basic idea of Descartes “I’M THINKING SO I AM” describes also the state of mind of my cat at least!
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discussion on twitter with the author Rita Banerji, Calcutta:
@Rita_Banerji
Thanks. Maybe it’s possible only without the idea of nations – as with global citizenship?
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@frizztext
Too much nonsense was fixed in some nations mental horizon, indeed! And cities are more developed than rural areas, right? This is called the “non-simultaneity” of the rates of development. “Non-simultaneity” between nations (sad to say) is usual.
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@Rita_Banerji
“Non-simultaneity of rates of development” is World Bank language. Us humans just call is EXPLOITATION 🙂
@frizztext
exploitation = the action of treating someone unfairly = “the exploitation of migrant workers, women, children etc.” – even animals have to suffer exploitation without respect – maybe we should not mention because many women have the same fate
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The philosophical term ethnocentrism helps to develop a global ethic, but also to understand the limited horizon of a national legal system.
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frizztext: The philosophical term ethnocentrism helps to develop a global ethic, but also to understand the limited horizon of a national legal system: or the aims of a military system.
P.S.:
actually I’m not happy that Germany will deliver hundreds of modern tanks to Saudia Arabia – where a blogger is sentenced 1,000 times for corporal punishment because he criticized Islam…
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https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/saudi-arabia-free-raif-badawi-flogged-blogger
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/07/us-saudi-rights-badawi-idUSKBN0M30SP20150307
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/raif-badawi-the-saudi-arabian-blogger-sentenced-to-1000-lashes-may-now-get-the-death-penalty-10077877.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/11350132/Saudi-Arabia-postpones-1000-lashes-sentence-for-blogger.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-surprised-at-criticism-of-blogger-badawi-flogging-10094429.html
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