Disability and the Virtues of Interdependency

Abstract Abstract This chapter explores happiness and virtue through the intersecting fields of positive psychology, virtue ethics, and disability studies. It draws on the social model of disability and awareness of ableism to offer constructive criticism of positive psychology and virtue ethics. It argues that positive psychologists too often focus on the individual and instrumentalize virtue and strength as the means to happiness, separating virtue from morality. In so doing, they give too little attention to the social conditions that shape and constrain happiness and virtue and underplay our interdependence. The chapter explores the virtues of interdependence, focusing on the illustrative examples of hope and humility. It criticizes the positivity myth and elevates the importance of hope for navigating the challenges of disability. It considers the interaction between humility and pride in the embodied experience of disability. It also insists that researchers and professionals working with people with disability need to exercise humility, elevating disability leadership and using principles of codesign and coproduction.