Nussbaum has been accused of instrumentalizing artistic work and undermining philosophical rigor with her project of a marriage between moral philosophy and literature. These voices, far from being residual in the debate that has made the thinker famous, show the innovative nature of her ideas for American Analytics. We believe that Nussbaum’s conception of art – which corroborates the philosopher’s cognitive-valuative theory of emotions –, as a transitional object and a site for the recognition of a common humanity, allows the criticism to be refuted. Also, it goes much further, legitimizing and substantiating a reading of the artwork as a space of relationship with one’s interiority and otherness.

Nel presente saggio, prenderemo posizione rispetto alle critiche che sono state mosse a Martha C. Nussbaum in merito al ruolo dell’arte nel suo pensiero. Argomentando questi aspetti, ne proporremo un’interpretazione come spazio di mediazione per l’esplorazione e il riconoscimento di aspetti della propria e dell’altrui umanità.