Ingrid Robeyns (Univ. Rotterdam - Philosophy) has authored a new entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the Capabilities Approach. In lieu of an abstract, here is a the first paragraph:
The capability approach is a theoretical framework that entails two core normative claims: first, the claim that the freedom to achieve well-being is of primary moral importance, and second, that freedom to achieve well-being is to be understood in terms of people's capabilities, that is, their real opportunities to do and be what they have reason to value. The approach has been developed in a variety of more specific normative theories, such as (partial) theories of social justice or accounts of development ethics. It has also led to a new and highly interdisciplinary literature in the social sciences resulting in new statistics and social indicators, and to a new policy paradigm which is mainly used in development studies, the so-called ‘human development approach’.
The entry is highly recommended.
(h/t the Professor).
I'm sure Martha Nussbaum's latest book will appear in the bibliography with the first update of Robeyns' entry: Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011).
Posted by: Patrick S. O'Donnell | April 24, 2011 at 12:02 AM