Why reading Martha C Nussbaum's philosophy is pure pleasure

I first encountered Martha C Nussbaum in 1987. She was a guest on Bryan Magee’s BBC television series The Great Philosophers. In each programme, Magee would interview a leading contemporary philosopher about the ideas of a great philosopher of the past; Nussbaum was brought in to discuss Aristotle. Still in her 30s when the programme was recorded, she was the youngest contributor to The Great Philosophers. She was also the only woman guest over the whole series (there were 15 episodes), which in itself made her something of a trailblazer. There were far fewer women philosophers then than there are now, and Nussbaum was one of the first to achieve a prominent public profile. But her contribution was notable not only because she was a young woman in a field of middle-aged men. Her exposition was sharp, smart and witty; she made ideas that were more than 2,000 years old spring to life. And she has continued in that vein over a long and productive career. Nussbaum’s style is lucid and el ... Read full article.