Compassion as the Foundation of Humanistic Ethics: A Study of Martha C. Nussbaum’s Thought

Abstract

This article investigates compassion as the epistemic and normative cornerstone of humanistic ethics by critically engaging with Martha C. Nussbaum’s philosophical corpus. Rejecting the long-standing dichotomy that casts emotions as irrational forces, Nussbaum reconceptualises compassion as a cognitively enriched sentiment integral to moral deliberation and public justice. The study unfolds in three parts: first, it delineates the philosophical and psychological underpinnings of compassion in Nussbaum’s Capabilities Approach; second, it mounts a critique of rationalist moral theories that marginalise affective experience. In the third section, we enter into comparative dialogue with Theravāda Buddhist ethics, focusing on karunā (compassion) as articulated in canonical Pāli texts and elaborated by contemporary scholars. We show that karunā, far from being a passive sentiment, is cultivated through systematic practices of mindfulness, ethical habituation, and insight into suffering. By juxtaposing Western and Buddhist perspectives, the article illuminates convergent principles, such as non‐attachment, empathetic imagination, and communal responsibility, that underpin both traditions’ understanding of compassion as a transformative moral faculty. Engaging these Western and Buddhist perspectives in concert, the study argues that compassion can serve as a transformative force for realising justice, human dignity, and flourishing in our globalised world.