Philosophy and Cognitive Disability

FAIN: FA-57860-14

Eva Feder Kittay
SUNY Research Foundation, Stony Brook (Stony Brook, NY 11794-0001)

Historical and contemporary philosophical accounts of persons, both with respect to what is due them (justice, an adequate level of care, full citizenship) and with respect to what is conducive to their good (requirements for well-being and a meaningful life), have given short shrift to individuals with significant cognitive disabilities. As a philosopher and a parent of a child with severe cognitive disabilities, the contradictions between philosophically normative conceptions of the human and those I have formed in my experiences with my disabled daughter have cried out for a resolution. The project, which will issue in a book, asks us to consider how certain traditional and contemporary questions in philosophy are reframed when we include people with serious cognitive disabilities within the scope of the inquiry and urges that actual relationships of care and love undermine a priori certitudes and thus enlarges our vision of who we are.

Associated Products

Learning from My Daughter: The Value and Care of Disabled Minds (Book)
Title: Learning from My Daughter: The Value and Care of Disabled Minds
Author: Eva Feder Kittay
Abstract: Disability offers a significant challenge to long-held philosophical views of the nature of the good life, what offers meaning in our lives, the importance of care, & the centrality of reason, as well as questions of justice, dignity, & personhood. In this work, the author claims that living with a daughter who has multiple & significant disabilities, including cognitive disabilities, has been transformative for thinking about her training, career & research as a philosopher. Interweaving the personal voice with the philosophical, the text argues that cognitive disability should reorient us to what truly matters; raises the question of whether normalcy is necessary for a good life; & considers the ethical questions regarding prenatal testing & what it implies for understanding disability, the family, & ethically informed bioethics.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/title/learning-from-my-daughter-the-value-and-care-of-disabled-minds/oclc/1057238061
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780190844608
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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