On what basis hope? Modern progress and postmodern possibilities

Area of Science:

• Disability Studies
• Philosophy of Science
• Special Education

Background:

• Examined modern and postmodern concepts of hope within services for individuals labeled with intellectual disability.
• Traced the historical development of the belief in scientific progress and its influence on special education as an interventionist social science.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how hope is constructed through modern and postmodern lenses in the context of intellectual disability services.
• To critique the role of scientific narratives in shaping perceptions and interventions for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Main Methods:

• Rhetorical analysis of discourse surrounding facilitated communication.
• Examination of intellectual history and the evolution of special education.
• Critique of modernist and postmodernist philosophical approaches to disability.

Main Results:

• Modernist hope relies on the myth of scientific progress for understanding and intervention in intellectual disability.
• Postmodernism critiques this scientific narrative, highlighting its potential to perpetuate stigmatized identities through power dynamics.
• Facilitated communication controversy exemplifies the use of scientific language for power effects in special education.

Conclusions:

• The discourse surrounding intellectual disability services is influenced by competing modernist and postmodernist views of hope and scientific progress.
• Critical examination of scientific language is necessary to understand and challenge power structures within special education.
• Postmodern critiques offer valuable insights into the social construction of disability and the perpetuation of stigma.