According to Nussbaum, instrumentality does not entail failing to have considerations or feelings for the objectified.

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This item examines a nuanced aspect of Nussbaum's account of objectification and instrumentality. 
First, consider what instrumentality means in her analysis: to treat someone instrumentally is to regard them as a means to an end, focusing on their utility or function rather than their own ends. 
Second, evaluate the claim that instrumentality entails a lack of consideration or feelings for the objectified. The key subtlety in Nussbaum’s approach is that treating someone as an instrument does not automatically eliminate all feelings or moral considerations toward that person. A person can be useful as a means while still being regarded with certain emotions, respect, or concern, depending on the context and the agent's motivations. 
Third, one might imagine scenarios where someone is instrumentalized but a relationship still carries some degree of care or recognition of the other’s humanity. In such cases, the presence of instrumental treatment does not universally entail a wholesale absence of considerations or feelings. 
Fourth, flaws in understanding this claim would arise if one assumed that instrumentalization inherently negates any moral or emotional regard. This would ignore Nussbaum’s broader framework, which separates the structural feature of treating someone as an instrument from the evaluator’s affective or moral stance toward that person. 
Fifth, given the prompt, if we interpret the statement as asserting that instrumentality does not entail failing to have considerations or feelings, this aligns with the idea that objectification can coexist with some form of regard, even if misapplied. Therefore, the statement is plausible within Nussbaum’s analysis. 
In contrast, a stricter reading claiming that instrumentality must always erase all consideration or emotion would misconstrue her position, making that alternative incorrect. 
Overall, the reasoning supports the view that instrumentality does not automatically entail a complete absence of considerations or feelings for the objectified, making the statement true in the context of Nussbaum’s theory.

PHI 007Y 001 SS1 2025 Week 3 Quiz

According to Nussbaum, instrumentality does not entail failing to have considerations or feelings for the objectified.

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