The Research Of Martha Nassbaum's Thought Of Liberal Education

Martha Craven Nussbaum(1947-)is a famous female philosopher and public intellectual in contemporary America,also known as a major figure of new Stoics.She has a vast interest in many fields,including classical literature,political philosophy,ethics,law,feminism,cultural and education theory.Nussbaum is the author of a number of books,like The Fragility of Goodness(1986),Poetic Justice(1996),Cultivating Humanity(1997)and Not for Profit(2010).Those books are influential in both domestic and foreign academic circles.Nussbaum previously taught at Harvard and Brown.Now she is the current Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago,appointed in the Law School and Philosophy Department.With her rich teaching experiences and the deep concern for education,Nussbaum made a comprehensive survey of the status quo of American higher education and criticized the disadvantages of education today.Her thought of liberal education was developed against this background.Martha Nussbaum first criticizes the prevalent utilitarian education,points out that with the aim of cultivating the economic productivity of students,utilitarian education is reducing the space for the development of humanities,which has threatened the democratic society.Based on this,Nussbaum further proposes that the aim of liberal education should be cultivating responsible world citizens,who has independent thinking ability,world-consciousness and narrative imagination.Qualified world citizens will take a crucial part in maintaining the sound development of democratic society and solving complicated global issues.To cultivate world citizens,measures should be taken in curriculum content.As for curriculum content,Nussbaum emphasizes that literature and art,philosophy and multicultural courses should be included in higher education curricula to ensure that the core value of liberal education can be passed down to later generations.Moreover,based on her survey,Nussbaum discusses how these courses should be taught.Martha Nussbaum's thought of liberal education is based on the current situation of American higher education,and has a far-reaching impact on the reform and reconstruction of American higher education.For Chinese universities which are in the process of building world-class universities and reforming the pattern of talents training in undergraduate education,Nussbaum's thought of liberal education can provide with us valuable experience and profound inspirations.