Abstract
Throughout Nussbaum’s many articles and books two ultimately incompatible strategies are apparent: one is a defence of Aristotelianism with its commitment to an objective theory of the good; the other is a commitment to Rawlsian deontological liberalism, which abolishes the good in preference for the right. In the first section of this paper I argue that this dual commitment concerning ontological assumptions represents a serious unresolved tension in her writing, and assists also to undermine her professed interest in developing an approach which is non-metaphysical and non-foundational. In the second section of the paper, I suggest that these problems could be more easily overcome, or at least addressed, by adopting an approach based on the philosophy of life, drawing on the writings of Nietzsche and Foucault.