The limit of models: Model schemata in disability studies

In this thesis I make connections between the physical sciences and cultural studies with respect to the nature and function of models. Disciplines within cultural studies are oftentimes considered less concrete than the sciences because they postulate socially constructed entities. However, recent model schema analysis in the philosophy of science has highlighted that scientific models are also "socially constructed" in that they are intentionally incomplete representations composed of distorted features justified through their use by various groups of practitioners. My investigation unveils that the roles and functions of disability models in Disability Studies are similar to mediating models in scientific practice. Therefore, the same conditions applicable to scientific models can be applied to cultural models as well. Consequently, my reframing interprets various failures of disability models as appropriate model schematic conditions.