The Sociological Straitjacket and the Ethics of Exclusion

Abstract

This chapter offers a critical evaluation of the disability scholarship of Michael Oliver, a leading developer of the British social model of disability, and Peter Singer, a philosopher whose utilitarian ethics excludes some persons with intellectual disabilities from full moral status. Through a critique of the simplified accounts of disability employed by these two very different scholars, this chapter explores the ontology and the moral significance of disability. The importance of the ontology of disability in relation to inclusion is also discussed.

Citation

Vehmas, S. (2015), "The Sociological Straitjacket and the Ethics of Exclusion", Foundations of Inclusive Education Research (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 6), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 223-241. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620150000006008