Martha's Nussbaum's Ethics as a Vision of Radical Social Responsibility

The essay is devoted to Martha Nussbaum’s socioethical conception, known as the capabilities approach. Nussbaum’s theory is analysed as a utopian theory of education. It is based on three philosophical foundations. The first one is Kant’s moral philosophy, according to which every person shall be treated as an end in herself or himself. The second is the Marxian postulate of developing the abilities of every person suppressed by alienation. The third one is the vision of women’s and minorities’ rights presented by John Stuart Mill. However, Nussbaum’s reflection goes beyond 18th and 19th century conceptions, as it refers to the contemporary world and to today’s emancipatory postulates. The philosopher lists the most important capabilities, whose degree of realisation serves as a measurement of social development (life, bodily health, bodily integrity, affiliation, control over one’s environment, practical reason, developing senses and imagination, play, and concern for the world of nature). According to Nussbaum, the society’s objective is emancipation for all, and it is possible to reach it thanks to the economic structure and a just legal system. The philosopher stresses the role that a universally accessible humanistic culture plays in this process, as such a culture makes people aware of the richness of their own potentials.