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Authors: Donna Thomson
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gratitude and justified anger. Not having oneâs emotional development blighted by fear and anxiety. (Supporting this capability means supporting forms of human association that can be shown to be crucial in their development.)
6. Practical Reason. Being able to form a conception of the good and to engage in critical reflection about the planning of oneâs life. (This entails protection for the liberty of conscience and religious observance.)
7. Affiliation.
A. Being able to live with and toward others, to recognize and show concern for other human beings, to engage in various forms of social interaction; to be able to imagine the situation of another. (Protecting this capability means protecting institutions that constitute and nourish such forms of affiliation, and also protecting the freedom of assembly and political speech.)
B. Having the social bases of self-respect and nonhumiliation; being able to be treated as a dignified being whose worth is equal to that of others. This entails provisions of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, case, religion, national origin.
8. Other Species. Being able to live with concern for and in relation to animals, plants and the world of nature.
9. Play. Being able to laugh, to play, to enjoy recreational activities.
10. Control Over Oneâs Environment.
A. Political. Being able to participate effectively in political choices that govern oneâs life; having the right of political participation, protections of free speech and association.
B. Material. Being able to hold property (both land and movable goods), and having property rights on an equal basis with others; having the right to seek employment on an equal basis with others; having the freedom from unwarranted search and seizure. In work, being able to work as a human being, exercising practical reason and entering into meaningful relationships of mutual recognition with other workers. 15
A cursory reading of the list reveals the simple fact that Nussbaum did not consider people with disabilities in her thinking. But she is a great philosopher and although she recognizes that people with disabilities may very well never be capable of attaining the minimum standard of functioning, Nussbaum recognizes that this poses a philosophical problem of their right to be. If practical reasoning is at the heart of being human, where does this leave our sons and daughters with cognitive disabilities? People like Eva Kittayâs daughter Sesha have been persecuted, shunned or even murdered; indeed, inclusion and equality are very contemporary concepts. Disability activists have criticized Nussbaumâs early work that positions people with severe cognitive disabilities outside an ethical framework for freedom and fairness that works for everyone else. But her more recent work shows a change of heart. In Frontiers of Justice , Nussbaum attempts to reconcile her list of ten basic capabilities (that she developed as a response to Senâs approach, which is far less prescriptive) with a theory of justice for people with severe disabilities. 16
As examples, she uses the lives of three young people: her own nephew, Arthur, who has Asperger and Tourette syndromes; philosopher Eva Feder Kittayâs daughter, Sesha, who has cerebral palsy and a severe cognitive delay; and the writer and intellectual Michael Berubeâs son, Jamie, who has Down syndrome. She describes the personalities, talents and abilities of these three young people and concludes that they may never become functionally able to repay society for the resources that they consume. If society provided the appropriately assistive training and supports to Arthur and Jamie, they might eventually be employed. However, Sesha is more limited in the range of her potential productive contribution to society, even with increased support. Nussbaum examines whether Sesha is âa different form of life altogether, or do we say
6. Practical Reason. Being able to form a conception of the good and to engage in critical reflection about the planning of oneâs life. (This entails protection for the liberty of conscience and religious observance.)
7. Affiliation.
A. Being able to live with and toward others, to recognize and show concern for other human beings, to engage in various forms of social interaction; to be able to imagine the situation of another. (Protecting this capability means protecting institutions that constitute and nourish such forms of affiliation, and also protecting the freedom of assembly and political speech.)
B. Having the social bases of self-respect and nonhumiliation; being able to be treated as a dignified being whose worth is equal to that of others. This entails provisions of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, case, religion, national origin.
8. Other Species. Being able to live with concern for and in relation to animals, plants and the world of nature.
9. Play. Being able to laugh, to play, to enjoy recreational activities.
10. Control Over Oneâs Environment.
A. Political. Being able to participate effectively in political choices that govern oneâs life; having the right of political participation, protections of free speech and association.
B. Material. Being able to hold property (both land and movable goods), and having property rights on an equal basis with others; having the right to seek employment on an equal basis with others; having the freedom from unwarranted search and seizure. In work, being able to work as a human being, exercising practical reason and entering into meaningful relationships of mutual recognition with other workers. 15
A cursory reading of the list reveals the simple fact that Nussbaum did not consider people with disabilities in her thinking. But she is a great philosopher and although she recognizes that people with disabilities may very well never be capable of attaining the minimum standard of functioning, Nussbaum recognizes that this poses a philosophical problem of their right to be. If practical reasoning is at the heart of being human, where does this leave our sons and daughters with cognitive disabilities? People like Eva Kittayâs daughter Sesha have been persecuted, shunned or even murdered; indeed, inclusion and equality are very contemporary concepts. Disability activists have criticized Nussbaumâs early work that positions people with severe cognitive disabilities outside an ethical framework for freedom and fairness that works for everyone else. But her more recent work shows a change of heart. In Frontiers of Justice , Nussbaum attempts to reconcile her list of ten basic capabilities (that she developed as a response to Senâs approach, which is far less prescriptive) with a theory of justice for people with severe disabilities. 16
As examples, she uses the lives of three young people: her own nephew, Arthur, who has Asperger and Tourette syndromes; philosopher Eva Feder Kittayâs daughter, Sesha, who has cerebral palsy and a severe cognitive delay; and the writer and intellectual Michael Berubeâs son, Jamie, who has Down syndrome. She describes the personalities, talents and abilities of these three young people and concludes that they may never become functionally able to repay society for the resources that they consume. If society provided the appropriately assistive training and supports to Arthur and Jamie, they might eventually be employed. However, Sesha is more limited in the range of her potential productive contribution to society, even with increased support. Nussbaum examines whether Sesha is âa different form of life altogether, or do we say
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