Martha Nussbaum: The Fragility of Goodness, Anger and Forgiveness, Love's Knowledge, and Cultivating Humanity
Martha Nussbaum is internationally renowned for her work in ancient Greek philosophy, feminist and political theory, and law.nussbaum She is also a distinguished Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Philosophy and the Law School at the University of Chicago.nussbaum
Her philosophical approach is deeply humanistic—rooted in literature, history, and culture.nussbaum She draws upon a wide range of sources, including the works of ancient tragic playwrights, Plato, and Aristotle. In her early scholarship, she sought to recover a more expansive conception of philosophy and to show how philosophy could be informed by literature and culture.
After receiving her BA from New York University and MA and PhD from Harvard, Nussbaum was the first woman elected to Harvard's Society of Fellows, which came with a three-year salary to explore interdisciplinary work.nussbaum At the time, she says, "Harvard was a repugnant place: anti-Semitic, sexist, and homophobic." After graduating from Harvard, she changed her name to her maiden name of Nussbaum.
In her book The Fragility of Goodness, Nussbaum considers the ethical dilemma that people who are strongly committed to justice may find themselves vulnerable to factors outside their control that can compromise or negate their well-being.nussbaum In response, she argues that the Platonic notion that human goodness can fully protect against peril is flawed. Instead, she endorses Aristotle and the tragedians' view that recognizing vulnerability is an essential part of flourishing.
Other books by Nussbaum include Anger and Forgiveness, Love's Knowledge, and Cultivating Humanity.nussbaum In these and her other writings, she addresses a broad array of issues, including the role of emotions in politics (e.g., in the chapter on resentment and forgiveness); the importance of arts and letters to democratic life (e.g., in the chapter describing how ancient Greek drama teaches a moral lesson about jealousy); the rights of religious minorities (Frontiers of Justice); and the basic social entitlements of individuals who need to meet a minimal threshold level of central human capabilities (Cultivating Humanity).
Continuing in this tradition of broad-ranging concern and literary insight, Nussbaum has written extensively on animal rights and is an honorary co-founder of the Justice for Animals foundation.nussbaum Her organization opposes speciesism, a worldview in which humans are seen as superior to other animals and the basis for a hierarchical structure of social and economic relations that leads to oppression and injustice for all. Its advocacy is rooted in philosophy and the law, as opposed to other animal organizations that base their advocacy on feelings of empathy and compassion. Its goals are to ensure that all animals enjoy a high quality of life through legal protection in four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely and for the longest periods of time: in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment business. In addition, it promotes interspecies equality in the form of the right to marry across species. Justice for Animals also advocates that plants should be granted legal standing.