--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that's what we really need in…" description: "\"I think that's what we really need in America, for people to hear each other. And I think philosophy could do a little bit better on that.\" — Martha C...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/110/martha-c-nussbaum-11905_america_i-think-that-s-what-we-really-need-in-am_28951.jpg" --- # I think that's what we really need in America, for people… ![“I think that's what we really need in America, for people to hear each other. And I think philosophy could do a little bit better on that.” quote by Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/110/martha-c-nussbaum-11905_america_i-think-that-s-what-we-really-need-in-am_28951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/110/martha-c-nussbaum-11905_america_i-think-that-s-what-we-really-need-in-am_28951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/110/martha-c-nussbaum-11905_america_i-think-that-s-what-we-really-need-in-am_28951.jpg) > “I think that's what we really need in America, for people to hear each other. And I think philosophy could do a little bit better on that.” [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote calls for deeper listening among citizens and suggests philosophy can improve that practice. **In simple terms:** Philosophy can foster better mutual understanding. Key Takeaway Listening is essential for societal cohesion. Themes communication philosophy civic engagement empathy dialogue Mood hopeful reflective optimistic Type observation call to action philosophical insight When to use this quote - community meetings - political debates - educational workshops - online forums - family discussions Key Concepts active listening public discourse ethical reasoning Practical Applications - designing curricula that teach listening skills - creating public campaigns that promote respectful dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How does philosophy train us to listen? - What barriers prevent people from truly hearing each other? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [There is also a philosophy of less-is-more, and a little dignity that never hurt anybody. There are many qualities to admire about our father's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-redford/there-is-also-a-philosophy-of-less-is-more-and-a-little-dignity-that/) [James Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-redford/) > [I think philosophy is all about lived experience, which is to say life in the streets, life in a variety of different contexts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-philosophy-is-all-about-lived-experience-which-is-to-say-life/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I think philosophy is extremely good training for anyone who wants to do anything. Although that is an idea which people may speak scornfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-philosophy-is-extremely-good-training-for-anyone-who-wants-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Somebody told me that if you wake up every day and do stuff that's easy, then you're doing the wrong thing. If you wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/somebody-told-me-that-if-you-wake-up-every-day-and-do-stuff-that-s/) M.I.A > [No one worries terribly much about who the questions belong to, or whether a given contribution is really philosophy or, instead, properly nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/no-one-worries-terribly-much-about-who-the-questions-belong-to-or/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [I would not think that philosophy and reason themselves will be man's guide in the foreseeable future; however, they will remain the most beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-would-not-think-that-philosophy-and-reason-themselves-will-be-man-s/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I think the philosophy will continue to be what it always was; which was, let's keep throwing a bunch of things at the wall,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/i-think-the-philosophy-will-continue-to-be-what-it-always-was-which/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [I think . . . that philosophy has the duty of pointing out the falsity of outworn religious ideas, however estimable they may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/i-think-that-philosophy-has-the-duty-of-pointing-out-the-falsity-of/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [“B.-H. Lévy: I am amazed to see that when somebody (I’ve been given leave to speak, so I will) starts to explain something here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beno-t-peeters/b-h-l-vy-i-am-amazed-to-see-that-when-somebody-i-ve-been-given-leave/) [Benoît Peeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beno-t-peeters/) > [Some of my understanding of what philosophy and ethics is has changed very slowly. One thing that has changed is this for quite a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/some-of-my-understanding-of-what-philosophy-and-ethics-is-has-changed/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [Many scientists think that philosophy has no place, so for me it's a sad time because the role of reflection, contemplation, meditation, self inquiry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/many-scientists-think-that-philosophy-has-no-place-so-for-me-it-s-a/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I don't think there is any philosophy that suggests having polio is a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-don-t-think-there-is-any-philosophy-that-suggests-having-polio-is-a/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“If people lived forever—if they never got any older—if they could just go on living in this world, never dying, always healthy—do you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-people-lived-forever-if-they-never-got-any-older-if-they-could-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I gotta think that one that becomes a philosophy of work, which is "no excuses."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ramone/i-gotta-think-that-one-that-becomes-a-philosophy-of-work-which-is-no/) [Phil Ramone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ramone/) > [I didn't even need America, I was so popular outside the country, until the prosecutin' attorney came from Washington, and said, judge, we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-didn-t-even-need-america-i-was-so-popular-outside-the-country-until/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) ## More by Martha C. Nussbaum > [If you really do want to increase women's status, you could focus on just that, but you'd probably better focus also on women's education.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/if-you-really-do-want-to-increase-women-s-status-you-could-focus-on/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [We are lucky in the United States to have our liberal arts system. In most countries, if you go to university, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/we-are-lucky-in-the-united-states-to-have-our-liberal-arts-system-in/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [Life is about more than earning a living, and if you're not in the habit of thinking about it, you can end up middle-aged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/life-is-about-more-than-earning-a-living-and-if-you-re-not-in-the/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [Our emotional life maps our incompleteness: A creature without any needs would never have reasons for fear, or grief, or hope, or anger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/our-emotional-life-maps-our-incompleteness-a-creature-without-any/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [I do think there's a lot of bad writing, and I worry about that in philosophy. I worry about it even more in literary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/i-do-think-there-s-a-lot-of-bad-writing-and-i-worry-about-that-in/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [With the rise of capitalism, it became more obvious that people pursue individual self-interest. 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It is possible to view another human being as a slimy slug or a piece of revolting trash only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/disgust-relies-on-moral-obtuseness-it-is-possible-to-view-another/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [The thing that I find so bad about anger is the desire for payback. Of course, it is very human to wish for revenge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/the-thing-that-i-find-so-bad-about-anger-is-the-desire-for-payback-of/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [The GDP approach doesn't address many aspects of human life: health, education, political liberty, religious liberty, employment opportunities. And these are not all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/the-gdp-approach-doesn-t-address-many-aspects-of-human-life-health/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [Knowledge is no guarantee of good behavior, but ignorance is a virtual guarantee of bad behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/knowledge-is-no-guarantee-of-good-behavior-but-ignorance-is-a-virtual/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [Today, I think, the state of philosophizing about democracy is very healthy. It bridges political science and philosophy, as it should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/today-i-think-the-state-of-philosophizing-about-democracy-is-very/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [“We might say that there can be pity in its full-fledged form only where there is also mercy for self: for the self engulfed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/we-might-say-that-there-can-be-pity-in-its-full-fledged-form-only/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [The great philosophers of the past who wrote so beautifully - Rousseau, John Stuart Mill - had to write beautifully because they had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/the-great-philosophers-of-the-past-who-wrote-so-beautifully-rousseau/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) [Explore all 57 Martha C. Nussbaum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? 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