ABSTRACT
Introduction The move of applying a modern concept and social experience, that of disability, with its premise of cultural construction and historical specificity1 to another culture, privileges by its investigatory nature the point of view of an anthropological observer, as opposed to an internal perspective that foregrounds the point of view of the subject, in our case the ancient men and women. The first posture necessarily pulls away from the reality of the observed individuals (in our case, ancient ideas and practices) to test its own parameters and meanings against them, and uncover new elements of relevance, including elements of contrast to its own world and intellectual system. It is in this spirit that a contemporary codified standpoint reflecting, at least in part, the assumptions of the modern observer can be a useful point of reference for historians. I propose to return to the definition of ‘disability’ offered by the World Health Organization, which was discussed in the Introduction to this volume, not as an anachronistic superimposition of our own cultural parameters as more evolved or truthful to the nature of human life than those of ancient parameters, but as a way to enrich our understanding of the differences that separate us from them, and possibly appreciate their lasting relevance to current debates.
