Martha C. Nussbaum, the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, has been selected to receive the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences from Prince Felipe of Spain. The award is given to scholars whose work “constitutes a significant contribution to the benefit of Mankind.” Professor Nussbaum will travel to Spain to receive the award in October. The award includes a cash prize of 50,000 euros.
The Prince of Asturias Foundation based in Oviedo, Spain, stated: “One of the most innovative and influential voices of contemporary philosophy, Martha C. Nussbaum advocates a universalistic conception of human dignity and women’s rights to overcome the limits of cultural relativism. Her theories are based on the belief that those who have a different understanding of what good is can agree on a number of universal ethical principles that are applicable whenever a situation of inequality and injustice arises. Martha C. Nussbaum defends the role of the humanities in education as an essential element for the quality of democracy.”
Professor Nussbaum is a graduate of New York University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.