
Why Does Intellectual Disability Matter to Philosophy?: Toward a Transformative Pedagogy
Author(s) -
Licia Carlson
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
philosophical inquiry in education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2369-8659
DOI - 10.7202/1082916ar
Subject(s) - transformative learning , ableism , sociology , epistemology , intellectual disability , philosophy of education , disability studies , pedagogy , philosophy , psychology , gender studies , law , higher education , psychiatry , political science
This article explores what it means to include intellectual disability (ID) in philosophical discourse and in the philosophy classroom. Taking Audre Lorde’s claim that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” as a starting point, it asks how certain forms of cognitive ableism have excluded ID from the “philosopher’s house.” Drawing upon Michel Foucault’s work as a theoretical framework, part one critically examines the ways that ID has been included, excluded, and constructed within philosophical discourse. Part two then considers what it would mean for ID and people with an ID to be included in the philosophy classroom. It offers some examples of how the work in disability studies, philosophies of disability, and philosophy of art can lead to a more inclusive and transformative pedagogy that will generate new critical questions and expand our philosophical dwelling places.