Disability, Dignity, and the Meaning of Human Flourishing: Lessons from the Nuremberg Medical Trials
By
Jan Grue
Toasted golden, schmeared with insight. Top of the rack.
Summary
This article examines the historical and philosophical dimensions of how society treats people with disabilities, using the Nuremberg Medical Trials and the "Leipzig case" (where a disabled child was killed under Nazi euthanasia programs) as a starting point. It explores what the denigration and devaluation of disabled lives reveals about broader questions of human flourishing, dignity, and what constitutes a "good life." The piece connects historical atrocities to contemporary debates about disability, ethics, and societal values.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledAt the Nuremberg Medical Trials, Karl Brandt, Hitler's personal physician, testified about his involvement in what he referred to as 'the Leipzig case.'
The parents of a child born with several disabilities wanted to have it killed.
He found, as he put it, no reason to let the child live.
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