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The rights of individual choices
The rights of individual choices
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Capabilities approach pioneered by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum is the theoretical framework that provides a foundation for assessing human well-being in terms of functionings and freedoms that individuals possess under certain political and social conditions. In contrast to alternative theories like utilitarianism that solely focuses on subjective phenomenon as pleasure in evaluating living standards, or commodity-focused approach that sees opulence as an objective indicator of welfare, capabilities approach is mainly concerned with choices that people can make and opportunities they are guaranteed in order to pursue their life goals. This approach addresses a number of issues within the political philosophy that are mainly practical in their essence. (1) How to combine broadness of the approach with its practical application (2) …show more content…
Sen (1987, 2005) intentionally tries to keep capabilities approach broad and flexible that allows people to define the list of functionings and freedoms with regard to problems in agenda and relevant context. Whereas, Nussbaum (1997) powerfully defends the point that a basic list of capabilities should be designed and offers her list of central human capabilities. In her opinion, such list is useful in political planning since it comprises ten core capabilities that are of extreme importance to all people and serve as the basis for their further prosperity. Her list contains:
1. Life. The ability to live a life without a threat of premature death, or a death from other artificial reasons that could be
Although our world is becoming increasingly more technologically advanced and developed, one billion people are still expected to live in extreme poverty by 2015 (Country Comparisons). As long as humanity has existed, there have been impoverished people left behind in the wake of advancement. Many philosophical theories have been published attempting to solve global poverty, and while some are better than others, they all draw attention to various facets of the issue. Famous theories have built upon one another, giving the next generation new ideas to sift through and ultimately attempt to uncover a viable option to help those in need. The recently introduced Capabilities Approach published by economist Amartya Sen and philosopher supported by Martha Nussbaum gives the most applicable solution to a continuingly complicated problem. While revolutionary, the Capabilities Approach was only conceivable due to centuries of meticulous contemplation of a global issue spanning millennia.
In Sen’s (2000) book, he proposed, “A person 's ‘capability’ refers to the alternative combinations of functionings that are feasible for her to achieve.” (Sen, 2000, p.20) Capability can be either on the realized ability that person is able to do or a capability set of alternative options person is free to choose. In the understanding of the Sen’s(2000) point of view, capability is kind of freedom, it is “the substantive freedom to achieve alternative functioning combinations (or, less formally put, the freedom to achieve various lifestyles).”(Sen, 2000,
When Nussbaum refers to ‘human capabilities’ she is referring to the people’s “abilities to do and to be certain things deemed valuable”(Nussbaum 275). In other terms, a capability is the ability to choose the way one leads one’s own life without constraints on any of the available choices. For instance, to be capable of choosing which political party to identify with or of practicing a religion of one’s choosing is to be fully human. In Nussbaum’s view being rational and being happy is not sufficient to define humanity. It is being able to make choices which defines a truly human life, and is accompanied with dignity. This presents the question of, “What is A actually able to do and to be?” (Nussbaum 285).
happiness, and can lead to the choice of death over life. Hopefully, we will fully
Life, such a broad yet concise topic. A multitude of different people and cultures offer different opinions on what gives life value and how to obtain satisfaction in our lives. For example, the typical “American Dream” is defined as attaining wealth and success through hard work, while many Spanish cultures consider closeness within a family a valuable trait in life. Whether it is family, success, love, or faith, every citizen in each different culture finds what brings him or her joy and does whatever it takes to reach this satisfaction. There are three specific aspects of my life which make life worth living; these include my faith, my family, and the talents I have been blessed with.
3) Capability refers to the dominant model of human capability that informs the way people think about their abilities and those of others. In Western nations this has been premised on a scepticism towards intelligence that assumes that only a minority are capable of high skilled work and that the education system must be organized in order to identify and cultivate this limited pool of talent.An alternative view is that the development of a high skills economy clearly depends on a model of human capability based on an assertion that all have the potential to benefit from skills upgrading and lifelong learning. It depends on an inclusive system of education and training that achieves comparatively high standards for all social groups irrespective of social class, gender, race or ethnicity. It also depends on teaching generic skills to all.
... values of empowerment and self-determination as an effective tools to assist the oppressed population to eradicate violence, social injustice and marginalization of their lives. These approaches are not viable unless programs are designed to address the various barriers including social integration, economic security, custody of children, and access to appropriate community resources.
... that truly exists, nothing else. There is no death, because humans are immortal spirits.
body, containing within it the key to understanding what it means to exist in this world
In order to understand the issues at play and to propose various solutions, three main concepts would be examined. The focus would be on context of development, self and identity development and social development.
the power of one. I think someone that can reach out to just one person's life
life, its entire purpose is now replaced by a machine - you are being kept alive
life and shape me as a person into becoming the best version of myself. The first virtue of three
Land. To never age and grow old, to see loved ones go by, friends and
life is the most precious God gift to every one whether it is human, bird, animal or plant it does not matter. But human life is more important than others. it has includes plenty and wide meanings in itself. it is not only about breathing. If the human do only breathing, eating and reproduction then there will be no difference between human and other living beings.