ABSTRACT
Drawing heavily on the philosophy of Aristotle, Martha Nussbaum wants to retrieve something of his commitment to "a single objective account of the human good or human flourishing." Such an account appeals in part to "features of humanness that lie beneath all local traditions and are there to be seen whether or not they are in fact recognized in local traditions." Trust is an essential part of any fulfilling mutual relationship that contributes to human flourishing. Getting help from others and being able to use it effectively "presupposes a substantial degree of trust." A Christian ethic, therefore, is not required to choose between self-love and heterocentric love. They can be reconciled through God's love for all persons and by the empirical realities of life as it is actually lived in a mutually loving community. There is a great deal of debate among Christian scholars about the degree to which self-interest can be made compatible with agape or altruism.
