Sen's capability approach and Nussbaum's capabilities ethic

Abstract

The paper assesses Sen's more abstract version of capabilities theory, Nussbaum's more substantive Aristotelian version and attempts to apply such conceptions to women's lives. Sen's capability approach is a helpful intervention in the discourses of mainstream Western welfare economics and moral philosophy. To in¯uence these, it retains some of their assumptions, and appears limited by its conceptions of the person and of agency. In both areas Nussbaum goes deeper, but her emphatically Aristotelian style is controversial and can short-circuit the debate she sought to advance. Priority areas for further work are: more adequate pictures of`culture' and`the individual' than she or Sen have used, to combine insights from communitarian critics with the strengths of the capabilities approach.

Accessible Consumer Electronics Are Essential to Closing the Gap in Assistive Technology Provision

“…The findings support the case that accessible consumer electronics are complementary to AT in Technology and Environmental Intervention (TEI) as described by Gitlow and Flecky (2019) [1]and enable people with disabilities beyond the currently limited functional purposes of AT provision, achieving "well-being" as defined in Sen's Capability Approach model [2]. This case challenges funding authorities to consider and provide accessible mobile and consumer technologies as assistive technologies (AT) or environmental interventions (EI) to support people with disabilities to live independently.…”

“…We remain far from fully understanding the true impact of these technologies on a person's opportunities and functionings. However, the technology offers opportunities in keeping with Gaspers (1997) outline of Sen's capabilities approach as a combination of well-being and agency but moreover expands upon that in line with Gaspers' description of Nussbaum's capabilities ethic which stressed the importance of a "good life". This integration of thinking is perfectly in line with the potential of technology, despite being dated just as we were seeing the first shoots of the exponential growth of personal technology.…”

“…Funding systems seem to be rooted in an approach based on equalising deficits instead of seeking to improve a person's quality of life and standard of living, as outlined in Gasper's analysis of Sen's capability approach and Nussbaum's capabilities ethic [2].…”

Beyond hard barriers: Lack of aspiration as a soft barrier to access higher education amongst youth living in low-income housing estate

“…Based on the capability approach (Gasper 1997;Sen 1993), financial barrier (which is considered a "hard barrier" in this study), is what constrains the youth from accessing external opportunity (higher education), even if they have the capabilities to pursue higher education.…”

“…Accordingly, the capability to aspire of the unemployed youth is shaped by various factors such as lack of funding and general increase in unemployment. As understood in Nussbaum (2001)'s capability approach, numerous external conditions undermine young people's internal capabilities to exercise functionality in accessing higher education (Gasper 1997). These external factors, in turn, constitute a barrier that prevents the youth from accessing higher education.…”