This paper reconstructs and addresses three major critiques of Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach (CA): (1) the claim that an exclusive focus on capabilities (rather than functioning) is ineffective in protecting people's well‐being; (2) the critique of paternalism; and (3) the objection according to which the CA relies on a vague notion of human nature. It argues that, while Nussbaum's account has the inner resources to partially address the objections, incorporating John Stuart Mill's harm principle offers a more robust defense of the CA. The paper contends that this liberal principle provides a sound criterion for distinguishing the human capabilities that merit political protection from those that do not. Moreover, the principle also allows the CA to better address the critiques of paternalism and laissez‐faire. After presenting this defense, the paper analyzes how the adoption of Mill's principle should shape the CA's treatment of self‐harm.
This book is a sustained attack on the claim that values are objective, in the world independent of people’s attitudes. It evaluates this claim in different value domains: moral, personal or prudential, aesthetic, and general evaluative. The first section greatly expands on J.L. Mackie’s appeal to moral disagreement...
Critics of neoliberalism increasingly examine its corrosive effects on democracy. Scholars often turn to Friedrich Hayek's political theory, arguing that it produces citizens who passively conform to spontaneous social orders. Yet insufficient attention has been paid to the normative conception of the human individua...
When, if ever, is it permissible to afford special consideration to friends and family? How can we strive to be objective in our thinking, and is this always a feasible or appropriate aim?
This book examines the categories of impartiality and objectivity by showing how they frame certain debates in epistemology, moral...
Andrew Jackson opposed America’s central bank in defense of states’ rights; he also opposed nullification in defense of the nation. These two positions, though seemingly in tension with each other, cohere once Jackson’s understanding of the union and nation is made clear. Though not a Roman Catholic, Jackson’s argument...
E. Loseke· Catholic Social Science Revi...· 0 citations
In post-Kantian metaphysics, several analytic thinkers argue that criterialism is both a necessary and sufficient condition for personhood. Criterialism contends that there is a specific subset of properties that determines someone’s personal identity, such as social reactive attitudes, mental complexity (second-order...
Stavros Panayiotou· Phenomenology and Mind· 0 citations
Our sense of self is distinctively social. It deeply matters to who we take ourselves to be that others recognize the claims we make on them and that we recognize the claims they make on us. Significant work on ideology and oppression characterizes how oppressive ideologies deny this kind of second-personal recognition...
Alejandro Vesga· Journal of Ethics and Social...· 0 citations
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