Love’s Knowledge by Martha Nussbaum

In February 2022 we read extracts from Love’s Knowledge by Martha Nussbaum. A fresh approach to introducing the book was taken, with provocations being invited from all members who suggested chapter selections. The provocations are below. The members, generous as ever also provided some context which is being compiled into a blogpost in the Network section of the website.

Chapter 5

Moral communication, moral imagination, and love are tied to the singularity of others. To what extent does an attention to singularity complicate and/or complement pedagogical approaches otherwise committed to social transformation/change?

Chapter 9

Do we agree with Martha Nussbaum that ethical literary criticism gives a fuller appreciation of Reading for Life than philosophical criticism, and if so, why?

Chapter 11

Assuming that education should help students better know themselves, what role(s) can literature and/or philosophy play in this process? What conceptions of the emotions and the intellect might hamper/help in this regard?

Chapter 12

Reading Nussbaum’s reading of Beckett (and bearing in mind that Beckett began to publish his literary works in 1930s) what are your thoughts on relation, life, and education?