A biography for Martha Nussbaumhasn’t been written yet.
“On the whole, the accommodationist position has been dominant in U.S. law and public culture ─ ever since George Washington wrote a famous letter to the Quakers explaining that he would not require them to serve in the military because the 'conscientious scruples of all men' deserve the greatest 'delicacy and tenderness.'”
“Fear is ubiquitous in human life. It starts in infancy with our primal state of helplessness, where we can see what's going on but we can't move to get it. As we grow older we become a little more able to get what we want but then we're going to die so that gives fear another boost.”
“Envy, propelled by fear, can be even more toxic than anger, because it involves the thought that other people enjoy the good things of life which the envier can't hope to attain through hard work and emulation.”
“There's nothing illogical, it seems to me, about saying, 'I am going to care deeply about my work and my writing. I'm also going to care deeply about my family and my child.'”
“I enjoy intellectual companionship.”
“Courses in the humanities, in particular, often seem impractical, but they are vital, because they stretch your imagination and challenge your mind to become more responsive, more critical, bigger.”
“I'm very passionate about political issues, but I also think that listening to people who disagree is extremely important, and I try to build that into my teaching, sometimes by co-teaching with rightwing colleagues.”
“You have to connect your work to what people are doing. A good way is to construct a bridge between theory and practice - Amartya Sen and I tried this by founding the Human Development and Capabilities Association where practitioners meet theoreticians and their discourse influences practice.”
“You can't have a democracy when people don't learn to put themselves in the shoes of another person, who can't think what their policies mean for others.”
“Giving children the sense that you always ought to speak up for what's right, even if it costs you something, that's something you can do.”
“I don't waste time despising people.”
“It is easier to treat people as objects to be manipulated if you have never learned any other way to see them.”
“It's a form of human love to accept our complicated, messy humanity and not run away from it.”
“To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, the ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control that can lead you to be shattered.”
“Emotions aren't just mindless urges; they contain thoughts about matters of importance.”
“Mob rule is always extremely dangerous for the future of democracy.”
“הבעיות הכלכליות, הסביבתיות, הדתיות, והפוליטיות בפניהן אנו ניצבים הן גלובליות בהיקפן.”
“להיות מסוגלים להבין את מורכבותם של הנושאים שמשפיעים על תולדות האנושות.”
“אנו מעריכים את חופש הדיבור, הכבוד לשונה ולהבנת האחר... אך לא חושבים מספיק מה יש להיעשות כדי להעבירם לדור הבא.”
“לפתח את היכולת של תלמידים לראות את העולם מתוך נקודת הראייה של הזולת.”