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The Affirmation of Blindness: A Nietzschean Critique of Interpretations of Suffering from Disability

Berkemeier, Caleb Anthony

Abstract Details

2021, PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English.
The field of Disability Studies (DS) generally avoids addressing the problem of suffering and disability due to the long history of harmful stereotyping of disability as being a bad state of existence. When suffering is addressed, it tends to be conceptualized and criticized as a consequence of social oppression; and, as such, the experience is devalued. Some DS theorists have attempted to analyze the problem of impairment-derived suffering, but they tend to narrowly focus on experiences of physical pain and avoid the negative psychological effects of lacking physical abilities. The problem of suffering and its value is a central concern for the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). Many of his works explore the experience of suffering and the psychological need for suffering to have meaning in a world that no longer offers convincing metaphysical justifications for it. Nietzsche argues that suffering has value and is necessary for human flourishing; and, in opposition to philosophical pessimists like Arthur Schopenhauer, he asserts that suffering must be affirmed. This Nietzschean perspective on suffering has vital implications for conceptualizing and interpreting negative experiences involving disability in general, and blindness specifically. In Part 1, I describe several DS interpretations of suffering, and compare/contrast them with Nietzsche’s interpretation. In Part 2, I use these interpretations to analyze experiences of blindness and suffering in memoirs and tragic literature. I ultimately argue that, if blind people are to flourish, we must adopt a Nietzschean interpretation of suffering. This interpretation requires us to affirm the value of suffering in blindness and to reject interpretations, such as social oppression, that devalue suffering.
Sara Newman (Advisor)
229 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Berkemeier, C. A. (2021). The Affirmation of Blindness: A Nietzschean Critique of Interpretations of Suffering from Disability [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1627135400515518

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Berkemeier, Caleb. The Affirmation of Blindness: A Nietzschean Critique of Interpretations of Suffering from Disability. 2021. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1627135400515518.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Berkemeier, Caleb. "The Affirmation of Blindness: A Nietzschean Critique of Interpretations of Suffering from Disability." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1627135400515518

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)