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Disability, Minority, and Difference
Author(s) -
BARNES ELIZABETH
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.339
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-5930
pISSN - 0264-3758
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5930.2009.00443.x
Subject(s) - harm , medical model of disability , feature (linguistics) , epistemology , sociology , disability studies , psychology , social psychology , philosophy , gender studies , psychiatry , linguistics
In this paper I develop a characterization of disability according to which disability is in no way a sub‐optimal feature. I argue, however, that this conception of disability is compatible with the idea that having a disability is, at least in a restricted sense, a harm. I then go on to argue that construing disability in this way avoids many of the common objections levelled at accounts which claim that disability is not a negative feature.