An extension of the capability approach: Towards a theory of dis-capability

In this paper, we introduce a framework that is an extension of the capability approach of Amartya Sen to analyse the concept of disability in a dynamic context for the disabled person. We build a theory of "dis-capability", according to which we define as disabled someone who has a limited capability set compared to his/her objectives, ambitions and system of values. The aim is to explain the dynamics between expectation, adaptation and creative adaptation for a dis-capabled person. In this perspective, disability represents the interweave between two pathways. While the first one, generating a condition of personal vulnerability, limits one's capability set, the second one is a pathway of creative adaptation, able to disclose new abilities, opportunities and potentialities. External capabilities emerge within such pathways. These capabilities, which rest on a close relationship between two or more individuals, significantly contribute to the construction of new capabilities. Finally, we examine some of the conditions under which external capabilities change from the direct interaction between few people to wider collective or team agency actions. (C) 2011 Association ALTER. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.