Martha Nussbaum
Capabilities approach to justice; philosopher of emotions, anger and animal justice
15 videos analysed · 57 quotes checked word for word · updated 2026-10-22
Key facts
- She became a bat mitzvah in Chicago in 2008, having converted to Judaism during her first marriage. Her prizes include the Kyoto Prize (2016) and the Holberg Prize (2021). Wikipédia 2026 · Martha Nussbaum
- Unlike Amartya Sen, who prefers that communities choose capabilities by public reasoning, she defends a fixed list of ten central capabilities to be written into national constitutions. Article · The Capability Approach
- Born in New York in 1947; works at the University of Chicago. Wikipédia 2026 · Martha Nussbaum
- She traces the idea of the "citizen of the world" from Diogenes and the Stoics to Smith and Kant. Wikipédia 2026 · Martha Nussbaum
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceShe grounds ethics and politics in human flourishing and dignity, inspired by Aristotle, and argues this beats utilitarian and Kantian approaches for animals. It is a rights-like list of capabilities, not a single rule.
She holds that her list of central capabilities states the moral entitlements of every human being on earth, and she justifies it by human dignity. She leaves its application to local choices.
No sourced position yet on: God, Source of knowledge, Certainty, Mind and body, Freedom, Faith and reason, Meaning of life, Human nature.
On the big questions
What is a just society?Equality
Closest camp to her view: she asks what each person is able to do and be, and lists central capabilities that a decent state must secure for everyone. Her ideal is a minimum for all, not strict equality. She challenges the social-contract model of adults who are free and equal, which leaves out disability, and adds a kind of political love.
- For her the central question is not how rich people are or how satisfied they feel, but what each person is actually able to do and to be. Video 2022 · Cover to Cover | Justice For…
- Her list is a list of capabilities, not of functionings: the state secures opportunities, and people stay free not to use them. Video 2011 · Creating Capabilities – Martha…
- The ten central capabilities cannot be traded off against each other, and constitutions hold them fixed even against democratic majorities. Video 2021 · Holberg Prize conversation with…2
- The social contract between free, equal and independent adults fails, because it leaves out people with disabilities. We need something closer to love to motivate people to include those who cannot repay. Video 2008 · Martha Nussbaum, "Equal Respect…
- Her list is a political one, as in Rawls's political liberalism: a point of convergence among people who hold very different views of the good life. Video 2021 · Holberg Prize conversation with…
Fixing one list of ten universal capabilities imposes a particular idea of the good life on everyone.
She answers that it is a list of capabilities, not of functionings: the state secures opportunities, and people stay free not to use them.
A fair society can be built as a contract between free and equal citizens.
She says the contract model fails because it leaves out people with disabilities, who are not free, equal and independent adults. Something closer to love is needed to motivate including them.
See 1 more objections
Democratic majorities, not a fixed list, should decide which opportunities people are owed.
She answers that the ten capabilities cannot be traded off against each other, and that constitutions are partly counter-majoritarian: they hold fixed what majorities might want to take away.
Defends : Equality of what? Equalising what each person can do and be, Force may be used only to prevent harm to othersMixed : The veil of ignorance: choosing the rules without knowing who you will be, Belief cannot be forced: toleration
The question on the site: all the argumentsDo animals matter as much as we do?They have rights
In Justice for Animals (2023) she extends the capabilities approach to all animals: each creature should be able to thrive in the form of life proper to its kind. She draws the line at sentience, rejects a ladder of nature and wants legal representation for animals.
- Justice concerns beings that strive to live well. The right place to draw the line is sentience, and injustice is the wrongful thwarting of that striving. Video 2023 · Animal Justice with Martha…2
- Animals should count for what they are, not for resembling us. Valuing them because they are like us is, in her words, narcissistic. Video 2022 · Philosopher Martha Nussbaum -…
- Utilitarians are right to focus on pain, but they flatten the world: animals also need movement, society, play and agency, which the capabilities list covers. Video 2022 · Philosopher Martha Nussbaum -…2
- Nature presents no ladder with humans at the top, but an amazing horizontal variety of forms of life. Video 2022 · Philosopher Martha Nussbaum -…
- Since animals cannot defend themselves, they need a political say: legal standing and legal representation, as for people with cognitive disabilities. Video 2022 · Philosopher Martha Nussbaum -…
The only thing that matters is whether animals can suffer.
She agrees that pain matters and that the line is sentience, but says the utilitarians flatten the world: animals also need movement, company, play and choice.
Animals cannot take part in a social contract or claim rights for themselves.
She says they still need a political voice: legal standing, with humans representing them, as for people with severe cognitive disabilities.
See 1 more objections
If animals count, must we also protect them from suffering in the wild?
She says we know too little about wild animals to intervene much, and most interventions would probably do harm, so she favours stewardship of the environment.
Defends : Justice is owed to every sentient animal: it must be able to flourish in its own wayMixed : Speciesism: counting everyone's interests, whatever the species
The question on the site: all the argumentsDoes history have a direction?Progress
Cautiously on the side of progress: she says real moral progress has been made (disability, gay rights, the legal treatment of protest, animal law), unevenly and with much work left. Despite backsliding she believes, with King, that "the arc of the universe is long and it bends toward justice", and adds, with Kant, that hope for better times sustains moral action.
- Concrete gains are visible. People with disabilities, gays and lesbians are respected as never before, and the law now stands behind protesters instead of against them. Video 2017 · Anger and Forgiveness |…
- Our age is not the worst. Reading history shows far greater upheavals, such as duels in Congress, armed rebellions and a civil war. Video 2017 · Anger and Forgiveness |…
- In animal law she sees progress that is uneven but moving forward, driven by what people are learning. Video 2022 · Cover to Cover | Justice For…
- Democratic politics is slow and full of backsliding, but she believes, with King, that the arc of the universe bends toward justice; even if unsure, it is good to act on that hope, which Kant adopted as a practical postulate to sustain moral action. Video 2017 · Anger and Forgiveness |…
She answers that history shows far worse upheavals and that things are no longer as they were in the 1960s, when people were lynched: one should not pretend they are, even though a lot of work remains.
The angel of history sees only one catastrophe piling up wreckage; what we call progress is a storm.
In their words
if your loved one dies of course it's right to be terribly upset
anger is neither necessary nor sufficient for violence
nature does not present a ladder it presents instead amazing horizontal variety
any attempt to close off those areas of vulnerability is going to result in an impoverishment of our life
1 more quotes
the central question is what is each person actually able to do and to be
How the ideas evolved
Click a step for details1986The Fragility of Goodness
Her first major book studies luck and ethics in Greek tragedy and philosophy: a good life depends partly on things we do not control.
1987On Aristotle and vulnerability
In a 1987 television interview with Bryan Magee she praises Aristotle for asking what a good human life is, not what duty is. She argues that a rich life must stay open to what we do not control, and that he is too keen on harmony.
In their words« Aristotle begins instead with a much more general question that is what is it to lead a good human life »She praises Aristotle for asking what a good human life is rather than what duty is. watch
« any attempt to close off those areas of vulnerability is going to result in an impoverishment of our life »A good life must stay open to what we do not control; closing off vulnerability impoverishes it. watch
« I think myself he doesn't go quite far enough here because he's so interested in describing a good life that's harmonious and balanced »She finds Aristotle too keen on harmony: deep love can challenge virtue. watch
2004Disgust, shame and the law
In Hiding from Humanity (2004) and From Disgust to Humanity (2010) she applies her view of emotions to law. She prefers Mill's harm principle to disgust as a basis for legislation.
2006Frontiers of Justice
She presents the capabilities approach as a partial theory of justice, inspired by an Aristotelian view of human nature. Ten central capabilities are implicit in a life worthy of human dignity. She stresses that it is a political doctrine about basic entitlements, not a full moral doctrine.
2008Equal respect for conscience
In the Ryerson Lecture she follows Roger Williams: public life should rest on ethical principles that people of different religions can share. She asks for respect, not mere toleration, and for something like love to include people with disabilities.
In their words« we can, and must, base that life on ethical principles that, for many of us, also have a religious meaning and a religious justification »Political life should rest on ethical principles shared across religions, as in Rawls's overlapping consensus. watch
« we have respect, really, in Williams, not just toleration, and respect is much more positive »She values equal respect for conscience over mere toleration. watch
« I think those appeals to passion are an essential source of political stability »Emotions, songs and images, as in King's speeches, are essential for a stable decent society. watch
2011Creating Capabilities
A short, accessible introduction for general readers, with the same list of ten capabilities: life, bodily health, bodily integrity, senses and thought, emotions, practical reason, affiliation, other species, play and control over one's environment.
2012 Change of mindChanging her mind on patriotism
She says she once argued for attachment to humanity as a whole before the nation, and has since changed her mind: a patriotism of good ideals can matter for a decent society.
In their words« now in subtle ways not diametrically 180 degrees I really have changed my mind »She says she changed her mind about patriotism: a good kind can matter for a decent society. watch
2016Anger and Forgiveness
Based on her 2014 Locke Lectures, the book argues that anger always involves a demand for payback, which cannot undo harm. She proposes "transition-anger", turned toward changing the future, and prefers generosity to some forms of forgiveness.
2017Anger, hope and violence
In a lecture on anger she says it embarrasses her that anger sits on her list of capabilities, added at Catharine MacKinnon's urging. Anger is neither necessary nor sufficient for violence. Violence can be justified, but not in a spirit of anger.
In their words« it's an embarrassment to me that I have Justified anger on the capabilities list »She would rather not have anger on her list, which she added at Catharine MacKinnon's urging. watch
« as Kant said the hope for the future the hope for better times to come sustains you »She defends hope as a practical postulate that sustains action against injustice. watch
« anger is neither necessary nor sufficient for violence »Anger always involves a wish for payback, but that is not always violent. watch
2022Presenting Justice for Animals
In lectures before the book appears she draws the line of justice at sentience, rejects both a ladder of nature and a pain-only view, and says we must protect companion animals whom we made vulnerable.
In their words« nature does not present a ladder it presents instead amazing horizontal variety »She rejects a ladder of nature with humans at the top. watch
« the approach values animals for the wrong reasons because of us not because of them it's narcissistic and complacent »She criticises the so-like-us approach: animals count for what they are, not for resembling us. watch
« it does zero in on a key issue in our exploitation of animals namely pain but it flattens the world too much »She praises the utilitarians for focusing on pain but says they flatten the world: animals also need movement, play and choice. watch
2023Justice for Animals
She extends the capabilities approach to all animals. A creature is treated justly if it can thrive given what its kind needs. She also asks by what right humans deny animals the use of the planet.
The arguments 7
The site's arguments they defend or criticize, and why. Click a title to see the full argument.
Her own argument: every sentient animal strives to live well in its own way, and thwarting that striving is an injustice.
She developed the capabilities approach with Amartya Sen. Her version adds a list of ten central capabilities.
She argues that the harm principle is the proper limit on individual liberty, and that law should not rest on disgust or shame.
She agrees with Singer that the capacity to feel pain and pleasure decides who belongs in the moral community, but argues justice needs more than reducing suffering. She stresses each animal's active life. She says utilitarianism sees pain but flattens the world.
She follows Seneca that anger is a poor guide: an angry army is a bad army. She adds that anger is neither necessary nor sufficient for violence.
She shares Rawls's political liberalism but says the model of a contract between free, equal and independent adults must be challenged, because it leaves out people with disabilities.
She prefers equal respect for conscience, as in Roger Williams, to mere toleration, which suggests a favour granted by the majority.
—
Allies and opponents
John Stuart MillInfluence
She defends his harm principle as the proper limit of liberty.
CiceroInfluence
She traces the ideal of the citizen of the world from Diogenes through the Stoics and Cicero.
Amartya SenClose
They developed the capabilities approach together.
John RawlsInfluence
Her work builds on his ideas and presents capabilities as compatible with his political approach, as an overlapping consensus.
AristotleInfluence
The capabilities approach is inspired by an Aristotelian account of human nature.
Christine KorsgaardClose
On animals they agree in practice across most of the ground; they differ on whether animals are active citizens or passive beneficiaries.
Peter SingerClose
She honours him as a great activist and agrees that sentience matters, but says his focus on pain leaves out what animals need to live well.
Signature ideas
Emotions as judgments
A neo-Stoic view: emotions such as grief, compassion, love, disgust and shame are appraisals of things outside our control that matter greatly to our flourishing.
The Transition
She argues that inflicting pain on a wrongdoer does not restore what was lost. She calls for a "Transition": a move from anger to forward-looking, constructive work and hope, as in Martin Luther King's "Dream" speech.
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All sources (36)
- Holberg Prize conversation with Martha Nussbaum YouTube (Holberg Prize) · 2021
- Holberg Prize conversation with Martha Nussbaum YouTube (Holberg Prize) · 2021
- Holberg Prize conversation with Martha Nussbaum YouTube (Holberg Prize) · 2021
- Philosopher Martha Nussbaum - Justice for Animals | Lecture via Zoom YouTube · 2022
- Animal Justice with Martha Nussbaum (Overthink, ep. 69) YouTube (Overthink podcast) · 2023
- Cover to Cover | Justice For Animals by Martha C. Nussbaum YouTube (WACA) · 2022
- Martha Nussbaum, "Equal Respect for Conscience" (Ryerson Lecture 2008) YouTube (University of Chicago) · 2008
- Martha Nussbaum, "Equal Respect for Conscience" (Ryerson Lecture 2008) YouTube (University of Chicago) · 2008
- Teaching Patriotism: Martha Nussbaum YouTube · 2012
- Human Rights & Animal Rights: Martha Nussbaum interviewed by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz YouTube · 2020
- The Capability Approach Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Martha Nussbaum Wikipedia · 2026
- Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach (review) Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews · 2011
- Prof. Martha Nussbaum book examines the trouble with anger and forgiveness University of Chicago News · 2016
- "Justice for Animals" Lets Us 'Discover New Ways of Seeing Animals' University of Chicago Law School (Chicago Review of Books) · 2023
- Nussbaum: Anger is the wrong response to injustice Middlebury · 2016
- On Nussbaum's Theory of Justice and Animal Capabilities: A Confucian Evaluation and Response Hong Shi Animal Ethics (dissertation summary) *
- Cover to Cover | Justice For Animals by Martha C. Nussbaum YouTube · 2022
- Holberg Prize conversation with Martha Nussbaum YouTube (Holberg Prize) · 2021
- Holberg Prize conversation with Martha Nussbaum YouTube (Holberg Prize) · 2021
- Creating Capabilities – Martha Nussbaum YouTube · 2011
- Philosopher Martha Nussbaum - Justice for Animals | Lecture via Zoom YouTube · 2022
- Philosopher Martha Nussbaum - Justice for Animals | Lecture via Zoom YouTube · 2022
- Philosopher Martha Nussbaum - Justice for Animals | Lecture via Zoom YouTube · 2022
- Aristotle's Philosophy - Martha Nussbaum & Bryan Magee (1987) YouTube (republication of the 1987 BBC series) · 1987
- Aristotle's Philosophy - Martha Nussbaum & Bryan Magee (1987) YouTube (republication of the 1987 BBC series) · 1987
- Aristotle's Philosophy - Martha Nussbaum & Bryan Magee (1987) YouTube (republication of the 1987 BBC series) · 1987
- Anger and Forgiveness | Philosopher Martha Nussbaum, lecture YouTube (Radboud University) · 2017
- Anger and Forgiveness | Philosopher Martha Nussbaum, lecture YouTube (Radboud University) · 2017
- Justice for Animals: Practical Progress through Philosophical Theory (2022 NAALC) YouTube (North American Animal Law Conference) · 2022
- Justice for Animals: Practical Progress through Philosophical Theory (2022 NAALC) YouTube (North American Animal Law Conference) · 2022
- Martha Nussbaum, "Equal Respect for Conscience" (Ryerson Lecture 2008) YouTube (University of Chicago) · 2008
- Anger and Forgiveness | Philosopher Martha Nussbaum, lecture YouTube · 2017
- Anger and Forgiveness | Philosopher Martha Nussbaum, lecture YouTube · 2017
- Anger and Forgiveness | Philosopher Martha Nussbaum, lecture YouTube · 2017
- Cover to Cover | Justice For Animals by Martha C. Nussbaum YouTube · 2022