Adam Greenow wrote:
> The social model says:
>
> I = D because of S
>
> This is false logic, because S and I do not exist. More likely:
>
> I = O because of P
> D = O because of P
> and S = O because of P
>
> therefore:
>
> I = D because of P
>
> The problem is rather simple, it's P.
>
> I = Impairment, D = Disablity, S = Society, O = Object, P = Practice
Adam, Mairian, and whoever else cares,
There is so much here I feel compelled to respond to. I'm a bit
distracted right now, but there are a few things I could add. I actually
think Adam, Mairian and I are in agreement on most of these concerns.
I'm glad, Adam, that you are emphasizing how practice materialises
'objects,' in this case 'impairment'. I think this is important
because, as you actually imply yourself, Foucault didn't think that
madness was just an idea, but was rather materialized even "on the
bodies" of those subjected in this way by a host of contingent
practices.
I think Mairian's remarks about ritual and how the circularity of
practice materialises entities are important. Thus, although I would
use most of the terms of Adam's formula (e.g. I = Impairment, D =
Disablity, S = Society, O = Object), I would modify P to SP = Subjecting
Practice; in turn, I would write the equation somewhat differently. I
would say:
social model says: I + S = D
but more likely:
SP > O = I > D, where D = SP
Picking up on Mairian's remarks about ritual, I would add that I think
Judith Butler has shown quite convincingly that the feminist sex-gender
distinction is misconstrued for just this reason. While that
distinction holds that gender expresses biological sex, Butler argues
that the *performance* of gender actually materialises the illusion of
sex as its antecendent and reproduces that illusion. In the piece I'm
working on, I trace a genealogy of the sex-gender distinction in order
to argue that the social model relies upon this sort of misconstrual of
causality.
I might make some remarks with respect to Mairian's point about nominal
essences, etc. later...
Best, Shelley
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