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Cover of: Neurodiversity, Normality, and Theological Anthropology
Dirk Evers

Neurodiversity, Normality, and Theological Anthropology

Section: Articles
Volume 4 (2017) / Issue 2, pp. 160-184 (25)
Published 16.08.2018
DOI 10.1628/ptsc-2017-0004
  • article PDF
  • Open Access
    CC BY-SA 4.0
  • 10.1628/ptsc-2017-0004
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Summary
In this paper I want to take a closer look at the concept of neurodiversity and to identify issues of normality and human identity linked to this concept. I will argue that the neurodiversity movement's emphasis on normality is ambiguous and sometimes counterproductive, but that nevertheless it raises important questions and promotes insights about mistaken concepts of human 'normality' and the relation between biology, brain, and personal identity, as well as about advocacy, authority, and self-determination. This concurs with philosophical reflections on the relation of nature and normativity: There is no objective human nature and no normal human behavior. All this calls for new ways of understanding Christian theological anthropology, which I sketch in the last part of the paper.