Q0537
“Emotions are not just the fuel that powers the psychological mechanism of…” — Martha Nussbaum (Upheavals of Thought (2001))
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Upheavals of Thought (2001). Theme: desire.
English
Emotions are not just the fuel that powers the psychological mechanism of a reasoning creature; they are parts, highly complex and messy parts, of this creature's reasoning itself.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Upheavals of Thought (2001) and files it under Political Liberalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Martha Nussbaum
Martha Nussbaum (b. 1947) is an American philosopher whose work spans ancient Greek ethics, emotions, and contemporary political liberalism.
How to read this passage
Ethics and moral psychology analyze appetite, love, ambition, and addiction. Stoic, Buddhist, and psychoanalytic traditions treat desire as trainable rather than merely given. This passage enters that discussion through desire, reason.
Concepts in this quote
- Desire
- Desire drives action and suffering alike; philosophy asks which desires to educate, restrain, or affirm.
- Reason
- Reason is the capacity to give and assess reasons—central to logic, science, ethics, and public argument.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Martha Nussbaum. (n.d.). Emotions are not just the fuel that powers the psychological mechanism of a reasoning creature; they are parts, highly complex and messy parts, of this creature's reasoning itself. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0537
MLA: Martha Nussbaum. “Emotions are not just the fuel that powers….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0537.
Chicago: Martha Nussbaum. “Emotions are not just the fuel that powers….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0537.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Emotions are not just the fuel that powers…”?
The passage is attributed to Martha Nussbaum, Upheavals of Thought (2001). The archive attributes this English wording to Upheavals of Thought (2001) and files it under Political Liberalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Martha Nussbaum mean by desire?
Ethics and moral psychology analyze appetite, love, ambition, and addiction. Stoic, Buddhist, and psychoanalytic traditions treat desire as trainable rather than merely given. This passage enters that discussion through desire, reason.