Rupturing Concepts of Disability and Inclusion

CHAPTER 2
ethnographic focus for analysis, but also as a locus for social change. Two specific
reasons are outlined: (1) descriptions of, and responses to, ‘impairment’ as
described in the theological narratives recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures and
Christian Scriptures have shaped practices of how ‘people of God’ perceived,
treated, and lived with people with disabilities; and (2) Christian churches, in the
past and in the present, represent a large body of responders of care and serviceproviders,
and therefore, provide not only a site for historical reflections of
‘traditional’ practices, but also a site for creative refiguration of disability practices
using contemporary scholarship.
How Judeo-Christian beliefs and practices have intersected with philosophical
notions of the superiority of the mind, the orthodoxy of reason, the primacy of
rationality, and the control of the body is also noted. I describe how some humans
who fail to be full, autonomous persons are excluded from full moral consideration
and significance, are unprotected by any theodic considerations, and can be at risk
of vulnerability and disposability. Therefore, I contend that ethical debates of
personhood and human status must necessarily inform discussions of inclusion and
exclusion.
A scan of the literature suggests that in recent times, two approaches have
dominated practices and scholarship about inclusion: the technical approach and
the legislative approach. However, I propose another approach – an ethical
approach, which challenges exclusion as well as the inadequacy of technical and
legislative processes; and identifies hidden assumptions which cause flaws and
problems for people with intellectual disability in particular. I assert that there is an
implicit requirement to also understand notions of profound exclusion – exclusion
practised ontologically as well as socially.
Therefore, this research undertakes a conceptual theoretical analysis of the
ethical significance of the notion of inclusion for people with disability as conceptualised
in Western Judeo-Christian society. It becomes apparent that the hegemonic
genesis of the traditional approaches to applied ethics and the legitimacy of their
orthodoxy and dominance be contested for their implicit exclusion of people with
intellectual disability. I suggest that it is not a notion of impaired bodies that
presents barriers to Ethical Inclusion: rather, it is impaired ethical theorising.
However, a challenge emerges as to how a researcher can best work with
seemingly disjointed fragments to construct an adequate explanation of the ethical
significance of the notion of inclusion. I choose to meet such a challenge by using
metaphor. First, I adopt the metaphor of the researcher as a bricoleur, and then, I
invoke the metaphor of a patchwork quilt by which to describe how the methodology
of this research can be conceived.
I describe how, as a feminine artform, patchworking embraces creativity,
multimethod, narrative and counterculture – elements that I identify as necessary to
explore the multifaceted nature of inclusion.
Finally, in determining the metaphorical process, I indicate how the top layer of
the quilt will be prepared. Therefore, I identify three steps to be undertaken: attention
to texture, choice of an appropriate ethical framework, and the laying out of all the
fragments.
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