Capacita' e formazione nel liberalismo di Amartya Sen e Martha Nussbaum. Eredita' differenti del pensiero politico per una "cittadinanza del mondo"

This research discusses the importance of the analysis of the history of political thought (in both Western as well as non-Western thought forums) for the theory of the capabilities approach as founded and theorised by Amartya Sen (economist at the Harvard University) and Martha Nussbaum (philosopher of law at the University of Chicago). It will examine the impact of the history of political theory in Sen's work which has been strongly influenced by the research of a close alliance between economics and ethics, but this contribution will also examine the most important fields of research of Nussbaum's own version of the approach that finds its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman political thought and especially in Aristotle's ethical and political system. Ideas and institutions regarding education and lifelong learning philosophy have been chosen as a †œprism†� in order to study the three Western pillars of political theory which are mostly considered by Sen and Nussbaum and in particular: the emergence of the lexicon of positive and social rights; the debate around the nature of citizenship in the contractualist theory and the very debate around educational policies. Furthermore, this work aims to analyse Sen's and Nussbaum's endeavour to overcome the culturalist and essentialist conceptions championed especially in the contemporary political thought by considering the importance of non-Western legacies and heritage of political argumentation and reflection about politics in India's political philosophy both in the ancient (Kautylia and Ashoka) and contemporary (Gandhi and Tagore) thought. Among these contemporary theories in political philosophy, the normative critique of Sen and Nussbaum faces especially multiculturalism, communitarianism, neorealism as well as the theory of †œasian values†� by remembering the very existence of political reflection in arenas of thought †œother†� than the West.