Martha Nussbaum

(American philosopher, 1947–). Nussbaum’s areas of interest include ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, and political philosophy and ethics. She is associated with promoting a "capabilities approach" to development and ethics. With Amartya Sen she views capabilities as "substantial freedoms", such as the ability to live to old age, engage in economic transactions, or participate in political activities, as the constitutive parts of development. On this view, poverty is capability-deprivation, which contrasts with traditional utilitarian views that see development purely in terms of economic growth, and poverty purely as income-deprivation. She is the co-author, with Sen, of The Quality of Life, and author of Frontiers of Justice, which builds on and addresses certain deficiencies within John Rawls’ political philosophy.