Ethical analysis of the concept of disability.
The concept of disability from an ethical viewpoint was examined. Whether disability results from the way society is built and the way ideas and judgments considering disability are established in a communal interaction was discussed (i.e., is disability socially created and constructed?). Although views on disability emphasizing its social nature are basically sound, they are also insufficient because they fail to consider the normative dimension attached to the concept of disability. The core of the concept of disability is ethical, which is why a moral philosophical examination of the concept is needed. Three possible ethical theories of disability (universal, objective, subjectivist, and communitarian) are briefly presented and discussed and a preliminary outline of a basis for a sound ethical model of disability presented.
Vehmas
Simo
S
Department of Moral and Social Philosophy, University of Helsinki, PO Box 9, 00014 Helsinki, Finland. Simo.vehmas@Helsinki.fi
D002648:Child; D002658:Developmental Disabilities; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004989:Ethics; D006808:Humanism; D006801:Humans; D010684:Philosophy; D011287:Prejudice; D012924:Social Conditions