Volume 30, Issue 2, 2018
James B. Gould
Pages 447-477
https://doi.org/10.5840/philtheol2019530111
Christian Faith, Intellectual Disability, and the Mere Difference / Bad Difference Debate
The mere difference view, endorsed by some philosophers and Christian scholars, claims that disability by itself does not make a person worse off on balance¡ªany negative impacts on overall welfare are due to social injustice. This article defends the bad difference view¡ªsome disability is bad not simply because of social arrangements but because of biological deficits that, by themselves, make a person worse off. It argues that the mere difference view contradicts core doctrines of Christian faith. The analysis focuses on intellectual rather than physical or sensory disabilities.