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Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by deficits in intellectual and adaptive functioning that manifest during the developmental period. This condition encompasses challenges in reasoning, memory, problem-solving, and learning, accompanied by impairments in everyday life skills, such as communication, self-care, and social interactions. Intellectual disability affects approximately 1% of the population in the United States, impacting an estimated 5...
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Learning disabilities are cognitive disorders caused by neurological impairments that affect cognitive functions like language and reading, without indicating overall intellectual or developmental challenges. These disabilities differ from global intellectual or developmental disabilities as they are limited to distinct cognitive functions. Common learning disabilities include dysgraphia, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, each of which impacts unique aspects of learning.
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Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
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Why Intellectual Disability is Not Mere Difference.

James B Gould1

  • 1Emeritus Faculty, Department of Philosophy, McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, Illinois, USA. jbartongould@gmail.com.

Journal of Bioethical Inquiry
|June 9, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Intellectual disability is intrinsically, universally, and globally bad, reducing overall well-being. This challenges the mere difference view, asserting intellectual disability negatively impacts quality of life, distinct from social injustice.

Keywords:
Bad differenceElizabeth BarnesIntellectual disabilityMere differenceQuality of lifeWell-being

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Area of Science:

  • Disability Studies
  • Philosophy
  • Bioethics

Background:

  • The mere difference view posits physical/sensory disabilities do not inherently reduce well-being, attributing negative impacts to social injustice.
  • Elizabeth Barnes's Value Neutral Model supports the mere difference view for physical and sensory impairments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the applicability of the mere difference view and Barnes's Value Neutral Model to intellectual disability.
  • To argue that intellectual disability represents an intrinsic, universal, and global harm to well-being.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
  • Critique of the Value Neutral Model's extension to intellectual disability.

Main Results:

  • Intellectual disability is intrinsically bad, negatively impacting well-being independent of environmental factors.
  • Intellectual disability is universally bad, lowering quality of life for all individuals with this condition.
  • Intellectual disability is globally bad, reducing a person's overall well-being.

Conclusions:

  • The Value Neutral Model does not adequately account for the harms associated with intellectual disability.
  • Intellectual disability constitutes a negative difference, distinct from social injustice.
  • Lower quality of life for individuals with intellectual disability does not imply lesser moral status or warrant discriminatory clinical practices.