ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the significance of special relations as a source of moral status. It explores how the fact of having a point of view, and making the effort to see another's point of view, is related to respect for profoundly disabled people. This book discusses how Sen's account of capability and functioning enables to understand the concept and value of freedom as this applies to profoundly disabled people. People with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) represent a tiny fraction of the world's population, and the level of dependency and cognitive impairment characterises this group as quite unlike most other human beings. Someone may be profoundly disabled owing to a genetic endowment or brain injury, or she may be considered as profoundly disabled not only in virtue of that, but also in virtue of how she is perceived and treated by others.
