The Minority Body

A Theory of Disability

• Author(s): Elizabeth Barnes,
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 160
• ISBN_10: 0191046566
  ISBN_13: 9780191046568
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy , Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory , Social Science / People with Disabilities , Philosophy / Political ,

Description:... Elizabeth Barnes argues compellingly that disability is primarily a social phenomenon--a way of being a minority, a way of facing social oppression, but not a way of being inherently or intrinsically worse off. This is how disability is understood in the Disability Rights and Disability Pride movements; but there is a massive disconnect with the way disability is typically viewed within analytic philosophy. The idea that disability is not inherently bad or sub-optimal is one that many philosophers treat with open skepticism, and sometimes even with scorn. The goal of this book is to articulate and defend a version of the view of disability that is common in the Disability Rights movement. Elizabeth Barnes argues that to be physically disabled is not to have a defective body, but simply to have a minority body.