Kategoria bezbronności jako podstawa nowego paradygmatu etycznego — Martha C. Nussbaum a dziedzictwo Henry’ego Sidgwicka

Abstract

The notion of vulnerability as the basis of a new ethical paradigm — Martha C. Nussbaum and Henry Sidgwick’s legacy

According to the strategy adopted in the paper, Martha Nussbaum’s philosophy can be fruitfully interpreted when juxtaposed with Henry Sidgwick’s ethical project. The objective of the article is to present the former as the solution to the so called dualism of practical reason pointed by the latter. This is taken to refer to the tension between the idea of the autonomy of an individual i.e. each person’s right to pursue their own conception of a good life and the realm of obligations to other agents. Regarded from this perspective, Nussbaum’s philosophy can be seen as an attempt at working out a comprehensive project, which enables the integration of both of these aspects within one ethical framework. It is the thesis of this paper that Nussbaum meets this objective by redefining the notion of a human subject by means of the category of vulnerability.