Normality

Abstract

Abstract Human nature purports to describe and explain “normal” humans. But what is the relevant notion of normality? Can we find a definition that singles out some individuals as “typical” without thereby suggesting that they are superior to their “abnormal” counterparts? Normality and its sociopolitical implications are the subject of Chapter 8. It begins by asking on what basis we should distinguish between healthy and pathological states of an individual. Next, it explores a strategy to define health qua normal function and considers some critical responses according to which normal function cannot be naturalized but is part of a political agenda. The final sections present various accounts of disability and an original “ecological” model of disabling conditions. The bottom line is that normality is not the key to human nature. Human nature is the key to normality. This raises the question of where such definition can be found.