Nussbaum's Additions
Martha Nussbaum
Many critiques have claimed that the biggest flaw in Sen’s capabilities approach is that it is incomplete and lacks a specific list that acts as a guide for good moral judgment. The most notable attempt to complete Sen’s work was by feminist philosopher, Martha Nussbaum. In her opinion the capabilities approach must include a list that “isolates those human capabilities that can be convincingly argued to be of central importance in any human life, whatever else the person pursues or chooses” (Clark, 2005). The list she proposes includes the following 10 capabilities:
- Life- being able to live a full human life of normal length.
- Bodily Health- being able to have good health, being supplied with adequate nourishment and shelter, and the ability to reproduce.
- Bodily Integrity- the ability to move freely from place to place safely.
- Senses, Imagination, and Thought- the ability to obtain a education, being able to use one’s mind to express themselves.
- Emotions- the ability to connect to things outside of ourselves.
- Practical Reason- being able to form opinions of right/ wrong and good/ bad in association of planning one’s life.
- Affiliation- the ability to engage in social interaction, to live with others, and to respect ourselves and others.
- Other Species- the ability to live with other species (animals and plants).
- Play- being able to relax, laugh, and enjoy non-working activities (leisure).
- Control over One’s Environment- being able to participate in political choices, and having the right to hold property, seek employment, and possession of individual freedom.
(Nussbaum, 2003)
Nussbaum maintains that this list is subject to various changes, but she stresses that the capabilities must be kept broad. She also argues that government institutions should not be able to stress one capability over another. Ultimately, Nussbaum states that these 10 basic capabilities should be encountered (to some degree) in any and every society in order for it to be ruled a just society.
Works Cited
- Clark, David A. The Capability Approach: Its Development, Critiques and Recent Advances.
- Nussbaum, Martha C. "Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements." Feminist Economics. November, 2003. Vol. 9, No. 2-3 Pg. 33-59.
