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*double meaning intended

"What I am calling for,” Nussbaum writes, is “a society of citizens who admit that they are needy and vulnerable.”

I was astonished when I discovered Martha Nussbaum, partly because I couldn't believe I'd never heard of her, and partly because her writing represents in so many ways how I've felt and what I've believed for years. She's published works on Tragedy, Vulnerability, feminism, religious tolerance, and so much more, all majorly coming back to an idea of openness, kindness, and critical thought of one's actions to empathy and trust.

Also see: The New Yorker's article on her! It's very good. Titled: "The Philosopher of Feelings"

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Martha Nussbaum (1947present) is one of the world's most influential living moral philosophers.

She has published on a wide range of topics, from tragedy and vulnerability, to religious tolerance, feminism and the role of the emotions in political life. Nussbaum's work combines rigorous philosophy with insights from literature, history and law.

Our happiness is largely beyond our control

Nussbaum takes issue with people like the Stoics and Immanuel Kant, who suggest there is no place for emotion within ethics. They believe ethics is about the things we can control. It's about the things that can't be lost or taken away from us, like our thoughts and our virtues.

For instance, in his Groundwork to the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant claimed even if bad luck or circumstance meant you were unsuccessful in everything you tried to do, so long as you acted with a "good will", your actions would still "shine like a jewel".

By contrast, Nussbaum believes the fact our intentions, desires and hopes can be thwarted by circumstances tells us something really important about flourishing (that's philosophy speak for living the good life). Specifically, that it's vulnerable and fragile.

She may have had Kant's writing in mind when she wrote the ethical life "is based on a trust in the uncertain and on a willingness to be exposed; it's based on being more like a plant than like a jewel, something rather fragile, but whose very particular beauty is inseparable from its fragility".

Risk is a scary notion in our society. We don't like thinking about it and we're not good at judging it accurately. Part of that is because we don't like uncertainty. But Nussbaum encourages us to reframe our attitude to vulnerability, seeing it as a unique aspect of what it means to be human.

"To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, an ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control."

Politics doesn't work without emotion

Most political philosophers and commentators are wary of the place of emotion in politics. When we think about the role of emotions in politics, it's easy to focus on fear, disgust, envy and the ways they can corrupt our political life. It's natural to assume politics would be better without the emotion, right?

Not according to Nussbaum. She suggests scrubbing politics clean of emotion would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, we need to be wary of the role of emotions in politics, but we couldn't survive without them.

For one thing, it's emotions like love and compassion that translate abstract concepts like truth and justice into real and lasting connections with particular groups and people. Ideas like human dignity capture what we all have in common but strong democracies tend to respect what makes different groups and people unique.

Emotions help us to cultivate a healthy balance between our attachments to ideas and institutions and our connection to particular places, people and histories. For Western democracies struggling to deal with different cultural groups and ideologies, Nussbaum's view may help strike a balance between society-wide ideals and particular cultural differences.

What's more, Nussbaum notes, political systems have always cultivated the emotions that serve them best. For example, monarchies cultivate childlike emotions of dependence and dictatorships often trade on a combination of nationalism and fear. These emotions create unity around a common political identity - albeit in ways people find problematic.

There's promising terrain here, Nussbaum says, because if we can work out the emotions that best serve democratic life, we can then cultivate these emotions and create better citizens.

She thinks we can do this through ritual, public investments in art and a living sense of cultural and national history (she offers the rewriting of America's founding fathers in Hamilton as a good example of this).

Nussbaum advises we can foster the emotions for citizenship with whatever "helps us to see the uneven and often unlovely destiny of human beings in the world with humour, tenderness, and delight, rather than with absolutist rage for an impossible sort of perfection".

Educate for citizenship, not profitability

In Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, Nussbaum targets the education system. She gives an ominous diagnosis:

Thirsty for national profit, nations, and their systems of education, are heedlessly discarding skills that are needed to keep democracies alive. If this trend continues, nations all over the world will soon be producing generations of useful machines, rather than complete citizens who can think for themselves, criticize tradition, and understand the significance of another person's sufferings and achievements. The future of the world's democracies hangs in the balance.

Nussbaum believes there is a crucial role for the education system - from early school to tertiary - in building a different kind of citizen. Rather than economically productive and useful, we need people who are imaginative, emotionally intelligent and compassionate.

She is also critical of the 'No Child Left Behind' approach to education in the United States, which put increasing pressure on schools to improve outcomes. They wanted to know test scores were improving, believing better education outcomes would help break the cycle of poverty. However, in focussing on outcomes, Nussbaum believes they prioritised memorising over the kind of education she thinks democracies need - philosophy.

You might be sceptical whether people stuck in a cycle of poverty need an education offering philosophical skills. The pressing need to be economically useful and employable can be seen as more urgent and important with good reason. It's likely there's a compromise to be struck here, but Nussbaum's work is still important.

It provides us with an alternative model of education and helps us see the beliefs underpinning our current attitudes to education.

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Big Thinker: Who is Martha Nussbaum? - The Ethics Centre

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She is one of the most highly regarded living philosophers. Take a look at Martha Nussbaum's vision for humanity. Hot tip, it involve admitting we are 'needy and vulnerable'?

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“We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion”

Poetry and oral storytelling have been a cherished influence on my for my entire life. My mom and Grandmother (her mom) were professional storytellers, my Grandfather a composer and musician, and since she and my grandparents raised me, I grew up speaking and thinking in songs and Aesop's fables, poetry and stories the language spoken at home.

Because of this, I tend to look at the world very differently than the people around me. The influence of moral lessons from the stories I learned, diverse cultures learned through traditional tales, and vocabulary given by endless reading and listening helped to both enrich my life and give me the words and ideas to describe and interpret it in so many ways many people could not, and I am endlessly grateful for it.

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"We are the Weirdos, Mister"

I watched The Craft (1996) for the first time after I'd started to take interest in paganism and other witchcraft-related practices. I found out my best friend also loved it, through it found out my sister and her both practiced in unique ways, and realized I was the one late to the party. Though The Craft is a fictional movie, they took much inspiration from actual, practiced witchcraft, and they had pagan specialists on set to make the movie solid representation of the practice and related beliefs, with of course the flourish that is show business added on. The movie became a huge influence on me, it being a well-done representation of a personal blooming interest, as well as a way I could find and connect with my close friends in a way we never had before. (also, I might add, the start of my gothic/alternative fashion love, as well as giving me inspiration and helping me start to feel more confident wearing more alternative clothes in public.)

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3/ago/2024 - 109 Followers, 199 Following, 9 Posts - Tarot Aesthetic (@aestheticallytarot) on Instagram: "🌹Delve into the world of divination 🌹Pendulum & Tarot Readings 🌹Custom Sigils & Magical Guides Visit my Etsy shop for more..."

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Boxing, although I don't go as frequently anymore, was a huge part of how I dealt with both physical and mental health for years. I credit it to giving me nearly all my confidence, an incredible community, physical strength, and mental resilience. It and the people I boxed with throughout the years have been a major influence on how I interact with spaces and situations I'm uncomfortable with. It's influenced how I think about movement, action and reaction (all very applicable in dance, too!), and also on how I think about difficult situations, gauging what I'm capable of.

Boxing, overall, no matter how worried it made my mom, has been one of the biggest positive influences on my life.

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Pinterest influences me majorly, a social media site with so much less "Social" and with "Media" that isn't overwhelming or trashy. I use it not only for inspiration, but also for organizing (and immortalizing) my thoughts and ideas.

I also find that, although it does have an algorithm that is influenced by trends it's historically been a website in which the photos you see are much more influenced by your preferences as an individual. In an era where we consume so much media it's helped me keep in touch with my interests/taste against the constant white noise of pushed products. (It has SO many ads now though, so this may be less true now.)

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"I need everyone at their battle stations. I need people in the situation room I need people MANNING THE ****ING FORT"

Brittany Broski, otherwise known as the Supreme Leader of Broski Nation, is a treasure.

Intelligent, down to earth, and with a comedic spark sure to draw people in, Brittany knows how to lead a nation. Every Tuesday, while either getting ready or eating breakfast (depending on how much of a rush I'm in) I tune in to The Broski Report. A rich podcast full of cultural takes, serious societal discussions, and deep dives on history, art, and literature, I'm always perfectly unprepared for every week's episode.

Her influence on me is undoubtedly significant. I've learned about so much from her podcast, things I never would have thought to do research on, opinions that both match and challenge my own, and colourful and unique language and expression that has bled into my daily life, all thanks to Brittany and her content.

Recommended Viewing, found on her channel "The Broski Report": My thoughts on Death and and Ireland Trip Review

(My favourite episode)

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Pin by Annabel Wall on ● Nothing… ● | Brittany, Just girly things, People

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Dec 16, 2024 - This Pin was discovered by Annabel Wall. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

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"The coach don't play the game. The coach play for the other team."

Abby, has been in my life since I moved to Squamish in 4th grade, and although we didn't get close until 9th, I regard her as my oldest friendship to date. My best friend, (and surrogate sister, at this point) she has a major influence on me in multiple aspects of my life.

An aspect she greatly influences me in is Music! I'd always gravitated to alternative and rock music, but only listened to what my mom did, as well as the pop music I found in the spaces I interacted with online.

I had never actively searched for new music before, and Abby heavily inspired me to do so. Watching how she navigated music apps and found/listened to music has had a major influence on how I do today, and the fact that we have similar music taste is fun as well. :)

She also had a well established music repertoire very young, and would frequently re-introduce me to music I'd listened to with my uncle or dad, that I hadn't heard in years, which meant I was inspired to dig through old record and cd collections, revisiting bands and albums, and being able to connect again with a lot of other people.

Abby also has had a major influence in me being more comfortable to be myself. Her genuine nature and confidence is absolutely courageous, as well as her talent of making safe spaces for people to be themselves in. Historically, I've always felt I need to suppress myself and my interests in friendships, but spending time and growing close with Abby has had the opposite effect, and I'm so grateful that her greatest influence on me has been to never let anything else influence you to a point where you abandon yourself.

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Wether it's her acting in a movie or writing, or directing it, Gewta Gerwig time and time again gives some of the most raw, accurate representations of women in cinema.

Greta's films, while it be Frances Ha, Little Women, or Lady Bird, (The most influential to me, among many others) Greta Gerwig has given the world, specifically young adult girls, truly special media to both look up to and relate to.

Her work has given me calm in times of panic and pain, given me comfort in the world and what's to come, and the knowledge that my experiences do not isolate me, in fact, they connect me to so many women around the world.

When actress Nicola Coughlan was asked about the experience and quality of working on a film with Greta, all she could say was, "It's Greta Gerwig. Need we say more?" and I couldn't agree more.

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Pin by sarah on women | Film life, Film inspiration, Female filmmaker

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"I don't know, felt like a dads at a playground type of thing" (After she was asked why she struck up a conversation with a TSA officer)

My younger sister Evelyn is one of, if not the most influential people in my life. She’s genius with interpersonal skill and interaction, and I find myself constantly trying to mirror her tactics when making new friends, or whilst being around people I want to make a strong first impression on.

Whenever she starts to use new slang or a expressions, it will almost always have a trickle-down effect into my and all our friend's vocabularies, and it's happened enough times that I know I’ll start to parrot whichever new colloquialisms and terms she’s using, unless I make a true effort to stop it.

While I’m sure a large part of her influence is how much time I spend around her, (which is more than anyone else in my life) I think it also comes from me looking up to her in so many ways, her natural, seemingly effortless cool, radiance, and wit. She’s a wordsmith with a subtle yet impressive intellect for interaction, relationships, tastes (across the board, from fashion and makeup to art and design), and humor.