By Edwards Steven D. Radcliffe Publishing Ltd; , 2005. , PB £24.95 , 156 pp. , ISBN 1‐85775‐700‐9
The definition of disability is an endlessly fascinating subject to anyone interested in the study of disability. Hardly a month goes by without the publication of another text that seeks to define the problem. Much of the debate and conflict, for this is a very contested subject area, centres on the role of impairment and/or role of the body, and how it is viewed and theorized. On the one hand, there are those who argue for a causal relationship between impairment and disablement and on the other, there are those who seek to present disablement as a condition that arises as a result of the way that society is organized. Put simply and crudely the arguments revolve around whether disability is the result of a deficit in an individual or the product of social relations, what are called individual or socio‐medical vs. social models of disability. This distinction is used to define disability studies. Those who identify with the social model being placed within the disability studies perspective.
These debates, whilst initially interesting, have now become sterile. Proponents of the social model argue that their approach has allowed for the development of a radical political movement that has politicized disability. Those who have adopted a less materialist understanding point to how their analysis has allowed us to gain an understanding of what it is to live with a particular impairment, how that impairment impacts on individual lives and how, for example, health care and rehabilitation are experienced. There is little chance of agreement between these two camps, but what is clear is that both approaches only provide partial answers.
In this highly readable and accessible book Steven Edwards attempts to take the debate in a new direction. Edwards is a philosopher and he has used a philosophical perspective to examine and critically review current writings on disability and to present new ideas on defining disability, on identity and quality of life for disabled people. Philosophy is good at clarifying terms and at its best it is also a critical, strongly imaginative and creative subject. Much of this book is good philosophy.
The book is split into three sections: defining disablement, disablement and the idea of a good human life and disablement and the person. In each section Edwards presents the key debates in a logical and clear style as he examines what disability is, whether a disabled person can have a good quality of life and what it means to be a disabled person. He lays out the key theoretical issues and clearly and succinctly presents arguments and counterarguments.
Edwards appears to be a critical friend of disability studies. He wants to challenge and test the assumptions that lie behind the subject. Whilst for example, he is very critical of the social model of disability, he does present the case for a model that is firmly located within a barriers approach to disability. He also clearly argues that having an impairment is not incompatible with leading a good life and neither does it make leading a good life less likely.
I would highly recommend this book and suggests that it would be of interest to a broad readership, including both academics and those who are disabled people themselves and those who work with disabled people.