d edited thirteen books. (law.uchicago.edu) Nussbaum received her Bachelor of Arts in 1969 from New York University where she studied theatre and classics. She moved into the field of philosophy while at Harvard University, where she received both her MA and PhD. She holds thirty-three honorary degrees from colleges and universities in North America, Europe and Asia. In 2009, she received the American Philosophical Society’s Henry M. Phillips Prize in Jurisprudence. (Wikipedia, University of Chicago) This award is presented in recognition of outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of jurisprudence. She is the 22nd recipient of the prize in 121 years, the second woman to receive it, and the only recipient without a law degree. (University of Chicago)

Several of her written works deal with philosophical explorations of global justice, as well as the relationship between justice and emotions such as shame and disgust, neither of which she finds an appropriate foundation for law or public policy. In one of her more recent works, Nussbaum applies her examination of disgust and justice specifically to the question of legal issues regarding sexual orientation and same-sex conduct. Disgust, she believes, is a projection of fears about contamination and a rejection of our own animal nature applied as a justification for group subordination, most notably of women, Jews and homosexuals. (answers.com)

Nussbaum promotes a “capabilities” approach which is universalist in nature (though she does not seem to feel universalism sufficiently addresses important issues of global justice or equality) and is presented from a largely Aristotelian perspective. The capabilities approach – in contrast to traditional utilitarianism, which sees “development purely in terms of economic growth, and poverty purely as income-deprivation” – bases criteria for development on “substantial freedoms.” These include “the ability to live to old age, engage in economic transactions, or participate in political activities.” (answers.com) Nussbaum is a champion of multiculturalism and advocates equality for all individuals on the basis of meeting a minimum threshold of ten key capabilities: life; bodily health; bodily integrity; senses, imagination and thought; emotions; practical reason; affiliation; other species (that is, the ability to “live with concern for and in relation to animals, plants, and the world of nature”); play; and control over one’s environment. (Garrett)

Peter Singer

Peter Singer was born in 1946 in Melbourne, Australia, the son of Viennese