Human Rights and Disability ― Interdisciplinary Perspectives

The formerly established medically-based idea of disability, with its charity-based approach to treatment and services, is being replaced by a human rights-based approach in which people with impairments are no longer considered medical problems, totally dependent on the beneficence of non-impaired people in society but have fundamental rights to support, inclusion and participation. This interdisciplinary book examines the diverse concerns that people with impairments face in the context of human rights, provides insights into new developments on important issues relating human rights to disability, and features new approaches and solutions to vital problems in the current debate.

John-Stewart Gordon is W1 Professor of Anthropology and Ethics in Rehabilitation Sciences and Co-Director of the Hans Jonas Research Centre at Cologne University. Furthermore, he holds a permanent Visiting Professorship in Philosophy at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania. He is a member of the Board of a€?Bioethics' as well as area editor and board member of the Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. He has published several books and numerous articles on the subject of practical philosophy. Professor Holger Burckhart is President of the University of Siegen. He is Chairman of the accreditation agency (AQAS) for accrediting courses for study at German universities. He is a board member of the Hans Jonas Research Centre, Berlin, and Director of the Hans Jonas Institute, University of Cologne. He is a Fellow of the IZA - Institute for the Study of Labour. His research in practical philosophy focuses on the general philosophy of science, transcendental philosophy, philosophy of language, and philosophy of educational theory concerning special education issues. He is co-editor of a€?Kritische Hans Jonas Werkausgabe' (critical Hans Jonas edition). Dr. John-Christian PAμder, University of Greifswald, Germany.