Normality as a Process

Published: 16 October 2024

In this Impulse Paper the German Ethics Council examines how ideas about what is normal exert normative effects in many areas of society. One important starting point of this enquiry is the finding that neither what is considered normal nor, in contrast, what appears to be abnormal, deviant or conspicuous is simply “given”. Sometimes, processes of normalisation evolve gradually and imperceptibly; in other cases, open revolt against certain ideas of normality is the aim of political campaigns.

Concepts of normality shape our understanding of ourselves as well as our understanding of the world and thereby provide orientation. Through an analysis of the complex relationships between normality and normativity the Impulse Paper aims to raise awareness for the changeability, contextuality and ambiguity of concepts of normality.

The German Ethics Council pays particular attention to controversial notions of normality in medicine and other life sciences. For instance, the distinction between health and disease often refers explicitly or at least implicitly to normality. New methods of non-invasive prenatal diagnostics raise the question of whether there is such a thing as “genetic normality” and its implications for our understanding of disability. The change from previous, predominantly deficit-oriented views of old age to positive images of aging that focus on the abilities and potentials of older and even very old persons makes the variability of ideas of normality particularly clear. The Ethics Council analyses the growing power of digital media on normalisation discourses using the example of the body positivity movement, which aims to break down problematic body ideals.

The Impulse Paper “Normality as a Process” is currently available in German only; an English version will follow in due course.