Introduction: Philosophical Reflections on Disability

Abstract

The discussions in this volume take place against the backdrop of the development of an increasingly vocal “disability rights” movement (henceforth DR) and the voluminous scholarly output of that movement’s “theoretical arm” (Snyder, 2006, p. 478), the growing academic field of “disability studies.” Since some readers may be unfamiliar with these movements and their relationship to what might be termed “standard” or “mainstream” bioethics, a brief historical overview will help to set the stage for understanding the various disputes to which the essays in this volume attend.1 For purposes of this sketch, it will be helpful to think in terms of three major “eras” of the modern DR movement.