“Some emotions are essential to law and to public principles of justice: anger at wrongdoing, fear for our safety, compassion for the pain of others, all these are good reasons to make laws that protect people in their rights.”

American philosopher, law and ethics professor

Martha C. Nussbaum is an American philosopher and legal scholar. She is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, with appointments in both the law school and the philosophy department. Her work sits at the meeting point of philosophy, law, and ethics, and her teaching and writing reflect that range. She is widely associated with questions of justice, human flourishing, and the moral responsibilities that shape public life.