. Havi Carel discusses how two philosophers (Descartes and Merleau-Ponty) each see the relationship between mind and body. In your own words, explain both Descartes and Merleau-Ponty, then identify which of them Carel herself prefers.
2. What’s the difference between the “biological body” and the “lived body,” according to Havi Carel? How does she use this distinction to make sense of the experience of illness?
3. How does the ADA define disability? Give an example of something that clearly counts as a disability on this definition and briefly explain why.
4. As Anita Silvers explains it, how does Norm Daniels characterize “normal function”? What defines normal functioning, and why is it important for healthcare?
5. Anita Silvers criticizes the emphasis on normal functioning for failing to distinguish between a person’s mode of functioning vs. level of functioning. What is the difference between them? Give an example of someone with an abnormal mode of functioning but with a fairly high level of functioning, then an example of someone with a normal mode of functioning but with a fairly low level of functioning.
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discussion post 1
What does it mean to be healthy?
What does it mean to be sick or ill?
And one last twist on this (in light of Havi Carel’s phenomenology of illness): do you think there’s an important difference between feeling sick/healthy vs. being sick/healthy?
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discussion post 2
One key point of Anita Silvers’s analysis of health and disability is that we conflate how a person’s body functions with how well their body functions. These are different, she says: one’s mode of functioning does not necessarily dictate one’s level of functioning. So let’s brainstorm this a bit; let’s think about clear illustrating examples of each of these four possible combinations:
A. Person experiences a high level of functioning using their body in the normal / species-typical mode of functioning.
B. Person experiences a low level of functioning using their body in the normal / species-typical mode of functioning.
C. Person experiences a high level of functioning using their body in an abnormal / species-atypical mode of functioning.
D.Person experiences a low level of functioning using their body in an abnormal / species-atypical mode of functioning.