On the notion of health as ability

Abstract

In this paper an outline of a theory of health based on the notion of ability is presented. A person’s health is defined as his or her second-order ability to realize vital goals given standard or otherwise reasonable circumstances. The crucial concepts: vital goal, standard circumstance and second-order ability, are characterized in the paper. Special emphasis is laid upon the third concept, second-order ability, which is of particular importance for the theory of rehabilitation.