The capabilities approach to welfare (with Martha Nussbaum)
Spencer Greenberg speaks with Martha Nussbaum about her capabilities approach to evaluating societal justice for humans and extending it to non-human animals. They discuss how to define and measure well-being beyond wealth, the ethical obligations towards animals (especially in factory farms), and the role of political institutions in achieving justice.
Deep Dive Analysis
17 Topic Outline
Introduction to the Capabilities Approach
Defining Human Central Capabilities and Their Origin
Critique of GDP and Preference Satisfaction as Welfare Measures
Balancing and Thresholds in the Capabilities Approach
Capabilities Versus Utilitarianism and Basic Needs
Applying the Capabilities Approach to Animal Justice
Ethical Considerations for Zoos and Human Impact on Animals
Defining Sentience and Its Role in Justice for Animals
Moral Obligations Regarding Factory Farming and Ag-Gag Laws
The Role of Human Intervention and Predation in 'The Wild'
Critique of Anthropocentric and Kantian Approaches to Animal Ethics
The Importance of Vulnerability in Ethics
Views on Inequality and Its Intrinsic Value
Critique of the Effective Altruism Movement
Defining Happiness and Flourishing Life
The Culture of Philosophical Challenge and Dialogue
Reflections on John Rawls's Work and Public Engagement
5 Key Concepts
Capabilities Approach
An approach to evaluating societal justice and individual well-being, developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. It proposes measuring how well people are doing not by income, wealth, or utility, but by what people are actually able to do and to be, focusing on opportunities to live lives they value.
Central Capabilities
A list of 10 non-negotiably important opportunities that a society must provide for its citizens to be minimally just. These include life, bodily health, bodily integrity, use of senses/imagination/thought, practical reason, affiliation, relationships with other species/nature, play/leisure, and control over one's material/social life.
Combined Capabilities
The highest level of capability, encompassing both internal developed skills (like human capital) and the external opportunity to actually choose to put those skills into action. This emphasizes freedom and choice, distinguishing it from mere innate potential or acquired skills.
Sentience
The biological property of having a subjectivity that sees the world from its own point of view, implying 'someone at home in there.' It involves the ability to feel pain and have perceptions, serving as a crucial dividing line for determining which beings can be subjects of injustice in the capabilities approach.
Ag-Gag Laws
Laws passed in many states that prevent people from divulging conditions in the factory farming industry, making it illegal to photograph or video what is happening inside these facilities. These laws are designed to stifle dissent and prevent the public from learning about the realities of factory farming.
9 Questions Answered
The capabilities approach measures how well people are doing not by income or utility, but by what they are actually able to do and be, focusing on their opportunities to pursue things they value.
In the capabilities approach, there are 10 central capabilities, and a just society must ensure that people are above a certain minimal threshold for each of them. You cannot trade off one capability below its threshold for another; the goal is to bring all individuals up to the threshold across all 10 capabilities.
The capabilities approach emphasizes choice and 'substantive freedom,' defining capabilities as 'spaces for choice' that people are free to exercise if they value them. In contrast, 'needs' is considered a mushy term that can be defined in various ways (e.g., utilitarian satisfaction or objective physiological requirements) and does not inherently emphasize individual choice.
Many zoos are unethical, particularly for large animals like elephants, large marine mammals (dolphins, whales), and most large predatory animals, because they cannot flourish or live characteristic lives in small enclosures. However, some smaller animals, fish, or specific bird species might be able to live adequately in sufficiently large and diverse enclosures.
No, plants cannot be subjects of injustice because injustice, in this framework, is defined as the wrongful blocking of a sentient being's striving to get what it wants. Plants are not considered sentient, meaning they do not have a subjective point of view or the ability to feel pain.
The primary obligation is to work for systemic change through laws and political action, such as repealing 'ag-gag laws' that hide conditions in factory farms. Individuals also have a responsibility to make ethical food choices, but the industry's power necessitates broader societal and legal reform.
Vulnerability is important because it is an inherent aspect of human existence that past philosophers often ignored. Recognizing our immense vulnerability helps us understand emotions and guides political thinking on how to protect valuable forms of vulnerability (like friendship and love) while preventing harmful forms (like hunger).
Whether inequality is bad depends on the specific capability being discussed. For capabilities like freedom of speech, inequality directly jeopardizes equal respect and is thus intrinsically bad, requiring equal allocation. For other capabilities, like housing rights, the focus is on adequacy rather than strict equality.
Effective altruism, particularly in areas like global health, is limited because it often fails to build durable, democratic political institutions necessary for sustained change. External financial aid can sometimes undermine the political will within countries to develop their own long-term solutions, making it potentially counterproductive in the long run.
21 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Systemic Change for Justice
Focus on building and supporting decent, stable, and democratic political institutions as the most effective long-term solution for problems of inequality and injustice, rather than relying solely on short-term philanthropic aid, which can undermine political will.
2. Advocate for Animal Justice
Actively work to counter the political and financial influence of the factory food industry, advocating for legislative changes like repealing ‘ag-gag laws,’ while also making personal food choices that align with animal welfare.
3. Define Justice by Capabilities
Evaluate societal justice and well-being by what people are actually able to do and be (capabilities), rather than solely by income, wealth, or average satisfaction, as these metrics can mask severe inequalities.
4. Base Animal Protection on Intrinsic Value
Advocate for animal protection based on the intrinsic value and unique characteristics of each species, rejecting anthropocentric ’ladder of nature’ hierarchies and cultivating curiosity about their diverse abilities.
5. Listen to Animal Behavior
Interpret animal behaviors and vocalizations to understand their preferences and needs, allowing them to be ‘active agents’ in shaping their world, even if through human surrogates.
6. Address Injustice: Recognize, Then Fix
When confronted with injustice (where capabilities fall below a minimal threshold), first acknowledge the injustice, then actively devise and implement solutions to rectify it.
7. Support Cell-Based Meat Technology
Support the development and adoption of cell-based meat technologies as a potential ‘game changer’ for animal welfare, offering real meat without animal harm and potentially shifting societal ethics.
8. Clean Up Human-Made Environmental Damage
Prioritize cleaning up human-made environmental damage (e.g., habitat destruction, plastic pollution, noise pollution) as a fundamental step to improve wild animal well-being, recognizing that all natural spaces are human-influenced.
9. Avoid Anthropomorphizing Animal Needs
Understand and respect the specific environmental and social requirements for each animal species to flourish, avoiding the assumption that what makes humans happy (e.g., small spaces) applies to animals.
10. Cultivate Critical Philosophical Dialogue
Foster an intellectual environment that encourages criticism and challenge, even of highly respected figures, as this promotes intellectual health, learning, and the development of robust ideas.
11. Communicate Complex Ideas Publicly
If you possess the ability to communicate complex ideas to a general audience, recognize it as a moral obligation to do so, as public understanding of these ideas is crucial for societal progress.
12. Evaluate Inequality by Capability
When addressing inequality, evaluate each capability (e.g., freedom of speech, housing) individually, using ’equal respect between persons’ as the guiding principle to determine if inequality in that specific area is detrimental.
13. Define Happiness as Flourishing Life
Define happiness as a ‘flourishing life’ with multiple components, emphasizing the importance of individual choice in pursuing genuine goods and ethical behavior, rather than mere moment-to-moment pleasure or subjective satisfaction.
14. Consult Experts for Species Needs
To understand the capabilities and needs of a particular species, consult experts who have extensively observed their natural behaviors and what hinders their flourishing.
15. Be Cautious with External Aid
Exercise caution with external philanthropic aid, as it can sometimes be counterproductive by undermining the development of essential local political institutions and self-sufficiency.
16. Study History for Perspective
Study the history of your field to gain a broader perspective and ensure your contributions are robust and transcend fleeting trends or ’latest fads and fancies.’
17. Acknowledge and Protect Vulnerability
Acknowledge and understand human vulnerability, including the role of emotions, and develop political strategies to protect ‘good’ forms of vulnerability (e.g., friendship, love) while actively preventing ‘bad’ forms (e.g., hunger).
18. Re-evaluate Capability Thresholds Regularly
Regularly re-evaluate what constitutes an adequate minimal level for each capability (e.g., education), as societal needs, economic realities, and global contexts change over time.
19. Implement Bird-Friendly Building Designs
Implement practical solutions like bird stickers on glass buildings to prevent bird collisions and make human environments more hospitable to wildlife.
20. Avoid ‘Sado Tourism’ Exploiting Animals
Avoid participating in ‘Sado tourism’ (e.g., safaris focused on watching predatory animals kill) that exploits animal suffering for entertainment and may involve artificial propping up of predatory events.
21. Provide Substitute Activities for Predators
For captive predatory animals, provide substitute activities and humanely sourced meat to satisfy their predatory instincts without requiring them to kill other animals, thereby reducing frustration.
7 Key Quotes
Society is only minimally just if it gives people a wide variety of these capabilities in different areas.
Martha Nussbaum
The normal question that people ask to themselves is, what am I actually able to do and to be?
Martha Nussbaum
The problem with the utilitarian approach is they pretend that there's a common currency and it's something like either pleasure in the case of Bentham and Mill or the satisfaction of preferences, as in the case of Peter Singer. But, you know, it isn't really the only thing in question.
Martha Nussbaum
Injustice is the wrongful blocking of a being's striving to get what it wants.
Martha Nussbaum
If countries are to avoid these risks, they have to have a decent political structure and they have to be willing to take the right steps.
Martha Nussbaum
I think philosophy is a very healthy field compared to, for example, literary studies. Because although it does have people who are more famous than other people, it encourages criticism and challenge.
Martha Nussbaum
If you can do this, that is right for the general public, then you have a moral obligation to do it. And you have no choice. You really have to do it. Because people need to hear from philosophers.
John Rawls (as quoted by Martha Nussbaum)