Reconciling the Capability Approach and the ICF: A Response

Abstract

In Reconciling the Capability Approach and the ICF, Jerome Bickenbach (2014) asks for caution in the “head-to-head comparison” of the capability approach and the International Classification of Functioning, Health and Disability (ICF). Bickenbach’s main argument is that the ICF has been misunderstood. I start with what the ICF is and how it has been used so far, then take up Bickenbach’s reactions to the major criticisms of the ICF that he identifies in the capability approach literature. Finally, I react to Bickenback’s proposal for a reconciliation.