Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to present Martha Nussbaum’s position about history and memory in democratic education, and to develop some considerations, starting from Nussbaum’s proposal, to show the importance of both history and memory for the construction of a political sphere based upon healthy emotions. Along the discourse it is highlighted, on one side, the meaning of history as a science, and on the other side its value as a tool to make available, through the memory, an endowment useful to fruitfully manage the present and build the future. Both sides are strongly connected. If the history is not understood as a rigorous discipline, and if the memory is not used in a healthy way, it is not possible to develop a good sense of civic duty and inclusive political emotions.