From social justice to compassionate justice: Martha Nussbaum’s contributions to political philosophy

Abstract

Martha Nussbaum is fundamentally a political and moral philosopher who, grounded in the Aristotelian tradition, has managed to integrate in a theoretical position, a vision of social justice with a perspective on the nature and cultivation of certain moral emotions that are appropriate to build a new democratic citizenship. For the author, justice cannot be separated from the actions of people in everyday life and, therefore, she considers that this link can be materialized through the cultivation of emotions which are understood as key elements of the moral life that sharpen perception of people in the world and guide their choices. Led by this notion, some fundamental aspects of Nussbaum’s political thinking are presented in this article, showing the transition that the author experiences in her theories starting from the positions of the liberalism of Rawls to consolidate her own vision of “compassionate justice”, which is a concrete way to underpin the public norm that defends how all people deserve equal respect and dignity. In this rounds, a reflection on the influence of the communitarian positions of the late twentieth century on the ideals of citizenship of the Chicago philosopher will also be carried out.