Deontological aspects of perceiving people with disabilities in the context of contemporary culture

• Main Authors: Shmeleva N.V., Babaeva A.V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow State University of Psychology and Education 2017-08-01
• Series: Психологическая наука и образование (2007. Online)
• Subjects: people with disabilities; deontology; deontological culture; corporality; body culture; ideal; mass culture
• Online Access: http://psyedu.ru/eng/journal/2017/1/Shmeleva.phtml

The article analyzes the problem of negative influence of the mass culture on value orientations of a modern person when the corporality is idealized. The priority of the visual principle in the mass culture of the XXth – beginning of XXIst centuries changes the human relation to his/her own and someone else's body, because the visual is inextricably linked to the reproduction of uniform idealized visual images, as well as to defining static social and cultural human roles judging just by the physical body condition (when positive characters often have an idealized appearance, and embossed body contours while negative ones have physical limitations). The desire and, at the same time, the inability to attain a perfect body condition becomes one of the significant reasons for social and cultural tension when a growing negative attitude towards people with disabilities is detected. In order to overcome the social tension, specific solutions are required. That makes it actual to appeal to deontology (a science about what must be done, aimed at the moral renewal of society). Ethical and deontological culture, pedagogical, environmental and social deontologies are of great importance as these are developing a concept of new system of values destined to overcome social and personal contradictions.