Compassion and Terror, by Martha Nussbaum

How should we respond to acts of evil committed against us? Philosopher Martha Nussbaum's essay Compassion and Terror was published two years after 9/11 and shortly after the beginning of the Iraq war. In it she argues against the feelings of fear and vengefulness that she sees in US politics at the time. Instead, she uses her philosophical training to argue for a politics of compassion, drawing on thinkers from Aristotle to John Rawls to make her case.

Martha C. Nussbaum (1947) is an American philosopher known for her work in ethics, political philosophy, emotions, and the humanities, currently a professor at the University of Chicago. She has written extensively on justice, human development, and the role of emotion in public life. She is widely regarded as one of the most important philosophers of our time.

The essay is 18 pages and can be found here
Come join us as we discuss the politics of emotion!

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Stockholm Philosophy Study group is a group for thoughtful discussion on philosophical topics. Everyone is welcome regardless of previous philosophical experience, but we strongly encourage you to read the text ahead of time as the conversation will revolve around it. This is a space were we learn from and listen to each other, our focus is on deliberation, not debate. If we are a large group, remember to leave room for everybody's voices to be heard. We read all sorts of philosophical texts, some are easier and some are difficult. If you don't understand everything, don't worry, we will make sense of it together.

Please note that this is a cross-post for an event being arranged via the Discord server. While you're free to sign up here, bear in mind that discussion between meetups happens on Discord, and this group may be unmonitored. If you join the server you also get to vote on our coming readings, so please consider joining the server.

Hope to see you at the meetup!