Purpose: EU policy documents and health scholars point out that in order to understand the complexity of modern health systems, as well as to devise appropriate policy responses, considering micro, meso and macro levels is indispensable. This article aims to develop an analytical framework for how rehabilitation as an interdisciplinary field can be framed in such a three level framework. Methods: This is a conceptual paper based on recent contributions to the development of a theory of rehabilitation. The paper applies sociological theory to build an analytical framework for a holistic understanding of rehabilitation. Results: Three groups of agents in the field of rehabilitation are identified: individuals with disabilities, professionals, and governmental authorities. The paper systematizes how these agents are positioned and act at micro, meso and macro levels. In the intersection between the three levels of society and the three groups of actors, a nine-cell table emerges. In the cells of the
The increasing focus on disability rights---as found, for instance, in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)---challenges philosophical imaginaries. This article broadens the philosophical imaginary of freedom by exploring the relation of dependence, independence, and interdependence in the lives of people with disabilities. It argues (1) that traditional concepts of freedom are rather insensitive to difference within humanity, and (2) that the lives of people with severe disabilities challenge philosophers to argue and conceptualize freedom not only as independence and interdependence but also as dependence. After tracing this need through a Hegelian understanding, via Julia Kristevas work on disability, and finally the CRPD, it concludes that a unified solution might not be possible. Hence, it argues that disability issues necessitate philosophical modesty.
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