Introduction

Abstract

This introductory chapter, by volume editors Adam Cureton and David Wasserman, provides an overview of the Handbook. Its first section covers the history of philosophical thinking about disability, from the 19th century to the disability rights movements of the 20th century and present-day. Following this is an outline of the purpose of the book, discussing how disability raises some of the deepest conceptual and normative issues about human embodiment and well-being; dignity, respect, justice and equality; and personal and social identity. Chapters will cover these as well as pressing practical questions for educational, health, reproductive, and technology policy, and confront controversial questions about the scope and direction of the human and civil rights movements. The introduction concludes with chapter summaries.

Citizenship, Ability, and Contribution

“…28–29), and a society founded on reciprocity must be ‘based on mutual respect ’ (2009b, p. 18). This seems similar to acting intentionally to sustain a relationship , and yet, in the most recent statement of this view, Hartley (2020) emphasizes that mere communication of any sort is a sufficient contribution, which aligns her more with the first or second (or perhaps the third) notion of social contribution drawn from Kittay above 14…”

“…This includes, for example, those infants with anencephaly and those with such profound cognitive impairments that they are merely responsive to stimuli in the environment such as light or sound. This set of human beings is extraordinarily small.’ (Hartley 2020, p. 208)…”

Disguising success or experiencing failure: how should we understand social and educational inclusion? (Disfrazar el éxito o vivir el fracaso: ¿cómo debería entenderse la inclusión social y educativa?)

“…De este modo, se concede cierta valía a las personas con discapacidad que son productivas, capaces, que destacan a pesar de las dificultades a las que se enfrentan y que se mantienen en los márgenes de éxito definidos para ellos por la cosmovisión predominante. Sin embargo, las personas que se sitúan fuera de esta cosmovisión, que se niegan a que sus limitaciones las definan, que reivindican su dignidad por encima de sus cuerpos, mentes y capacidades, suelen ser ignoradas, porque representan al verdadero Otro, el inaceptable, inadaptable, verdaderamente distinto, cuyas formas de ser y hacer amenazan el orden social establecido (Marsh, 2020). Ahora bien, estas personas existen y no exigen una vida de éxito, sino la posibilidad de desarrollar una vida digna que les es propia, a pesar de que socialmente pueda ser considerada como una vida fracasada (Wong, 2020).…”

“…In this way, some value is placed on people with disabilities who are productive, capable, who excel in spite of all their difficulties, and who remain within the range of success defined for them by the dominant worldview. However, people who fall outside this worldview, who refuse to be defined by their limitations, who claim their dignity beyond their bodies, their minds and their abilities, are often disregarded, as they represent the true Other, the unacceptable, the unadaptable, the truly different, whose ways of being and of doing threaten the prevailing social order (Marsh, 2020). These people do exist, however, and they do not demand a successful life but the possibility to live a life of dignity that is their own, even though it may be socially considered a failed life (Wong, 2020).…”

Disability Discrimination and Patient-Sensitive Health-Related Quality of Life

“…My argument concerns how cost-effectiveness analysis should approach, weigh, and measure disability, but it is compatible with different views on what counts as a disability. 6 My argument proceeds as follows. The first section describes the problem of disability discrimination in relation to costeffectiveness analysis.…”