The necessity of Martha Nussbaum's philosophy

[Celerity]

The necessity of Nussbaum

Martha Nussbaum’s philosophy is dynamic and challenging, but also elegant and lucidly written: she is the thinker of our time

https://aeon.co/essays/why-reading-martha-c-nussbaums-philosophy-is-pure-pleasure


Berlin, 1989. Photo by Raymond Depardon/Magnum



I first encountered Martha C Nussbaum in 1987. She was a guest on Bryan Magee’s BBC television series The Great Philosophers. In each programme, Magee would interview a leading contemporary philosopher about the ideas of a great philosopher of the past; Nussbaum was brought in to discuss Aristotle.

Still in her 30s when the programme was recorded, she was the youngest contributor to The Great Philosophers. She was also the only woman guest over the whole series (there were 15 episodes), which in itself made her something of a trailblazer. There were far fewer women philosophers then than there are now, and Nussbaum was one of the first to achieve a prominent public profile. But her contribution was notable not only because she was a young woman in a field of middle-aged men. Her exposition was sharp, smart and witty; she made ideas that were more than 2,000 years old spring to life. And she has continued in that vein over a long and productive career.

Nussbaum’s style is lucid and elegant, and she can be read for pure pleasure (which is certainly not something you could say of all academic philosophers). She has made important contributions in ethics, political philosophy, international development, feminist philosophy, animal rights, philosophy of emotion, and global justice. From her remarkably impressive body of work (at least 28 books and more than 500 papers), I have chosen here to concentrate on three key areas: the capabilities approach, her theory of emotions and, connected with that, her work on anger. Her treatment of each of these topics offers excellent evidence of how Nussbaum’s work challenges settled positions.

When stated baldly, the capabilities approach (CA) might seem simple – plain common sense. In fact, it is a subtle and far-reaching theory that changes the way we think about human needs. But let me start by stating it baldly: the CA says that it is the task of governments (or other bodies that make policy and distribute resources) to provide all citizens equally with the capabilities needed to lead a flourishing life. (The goal of flourishing, of course, reflects the influence of Aristotle, who held that it’s the primary goal of all organisms to flourish according to their nature.) The CA could be described as the outcome of three propositions:

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