As a child growing up in a specialised institution in Switzerland, Alexandre Jollien seemed destined to roll cigars for a living. This was not how he wanted to spend his life but, because of cerebral palsy, it was one of the few options open to him. To escape the monotony of the centre, he read books and, as a teenager, developed an interest in philosophy. As he delved deeper into this subject, he found a means to identify strength in his weakness.

At 25, Jollien is now an accomplished writer, highly regarded among the French-speaking community, particularly in his native Switzerland. His autobiography, Eloge de la Faiblesse (In Praise of Weakness), soon to be published in English, takes a fresh look at the nature of difference and the adaptive capacity of man. In November, it won him two awards for literary excellence from the Academie Francaise.

"The big joy is that the prize proves that my work has literary value," he says. "I know that myself but I'm relieved that the academy wants to say that as well."

Eloge de la Faiblesse (In Praise of Weakness), soon to be published in English, takes a fresh and insightful look at the nature of difference and the adaptive capacity of man.

Currently combining work on his second book, a novel, with studies in philosophy and Greek at Trinity College, Dublin, Jollien's success shows that having a disability need not shackle one's potential. "The experience of weakness can speak to everybody," he says. "The handicap and the weakness can be a motor. It can give you force to be stronger. In today's life we have a tendency to not consider the weak as people as such."

Jollien was 14 years old when he was introduced to philosophy. It was a revelation that changed his life. "Philosophy opened up a new world of understanding for me," he explains. "It allowed me to view my experience from a distance. The thoughts of Socrates were especially helpful - `Nobody is intentionally bad' - that is helpful when people laugh at me, for example. And `know yourself'. Once I heard these, I had the tools to write."

Philosophy afforded the young Jollien a desire to expand his life beyond the specialised care centre where he lived for 17 years. It taught him to understand, to communicate and, most importantly, to be himself. "I had the energy to struggle more. The social workers who took care of me at the centre were not always open-minded. Many tried to validate themselves by working in the social area. They considered us inferior, which was very difficult." Life at the centre, however, was mostly rewarding for Jollien. There he made friends whose simple outlook on life taught him a great deal. "Today I'm learning philosophy and when I have something difficult to understand, I think of the friends I had when I was a child. They taught me many things, not through saying a lot, but simply by being. There was no jealousy; everyone was as simple as possible."

But there came a time when Jollien realised that to explore his potential he would have to leave the institution and its securities behind. "In the centre we were happy and united. The contact between disabled people was very deep because we were the same. Leaving to go to high school was difficult. People there were very jealous and competitive. But I tried to look at this new experience and to learn from it."

Jollien acknowledges that his difficulty on entering high school may have been partially engendered by his inexperience of life outside an institution. "In a certain way I'm sure I was naive. But sometimes it's good to be naive even if it makes you suffer in the beginning. The essence is not to lose this naivety but to educate it. A certain amount of innocence is beneficial but you still have to adapt."

Yet to adapt in the usual sense of the word is to be `normal'. For a time, Jollien aspired to make himself as indistinguishable from others as possible. Today, he regards this as fallacy. "You should be yourself, to try to develop your potential and accept your weakness. When I left the centre, I tried to be `normal'. Normal is a useful word for medicine and psychology, but otherwise it is too abstract. When we decide what's normal and what's not normal, it could be very dangerous. In saying what is the best way to live, we lose our freedom."

His autobiography hinges upon an imaginary dialogue between himself and Socrates. The philosopher's penetrative questioning encourages the writer to look beneath the folds of his experience to uncover the essence of his humanity. "I chose to have Socrates talking to me. He starts to interrogate me like a father. In the end he notices that I always say I am abnormal. He's not happy with that. He asks me to talk about what is normality and I cannot answer because I think human beings cannot be reduced in theory and definition. Everybody is unique."

After graduating from high school, Jollien progressed to business school and then university to study philosophy. He decided to go to Trinity College after a holiday in Cork last summer. While there, he was greatly taken with the "Irish mentality and the Irish philosophy". "I don't feel pitied here as often as in Switzerland. I think Irish people are very open-minded. I am astonished because the young people here don't laugh at me. They would laugh at me a lot in Switzerland. The Irish are very welcoming. But they are quite conservative."

While he enjoys his studies in Trinity, he finds it harder than most. Due to his condition, he suffers severe neck pain after prolonged reading and is unable to write. His lecturers and fellow students, however, have been hugely supportive. "I am very lucky. People help me by giving me their notes and by reading chapters on to tapes. They also type for me. The cleaners here are also wonderful. They cook my lunch for me every day. Although I am independent and can function quite well, things take a lot of time. At this stage I can do quite a lot but I tire easily. Things take a lot of energy."

Jollien decided to write his autobiography on the advice of his doctor and teachers. It was a project he was glad to undertake. "I love words and I think it's good to be able to produce something true. I love to find a good sentence. I've always enjoyed writing, except when I was a child - then I didn't want to speak or write. When I received my first computer and could produce letters and words it was crazy. It was so liberating and I began to write."

He hopes his book will help people to view disability without fear or repugnance. "I had a lot of nightmares when I was writing it. But I didn't write to purify myself - it wasn't a catharsis. I think my main philosophical point is that the experience of a weakness can reveal a lot of things. The way people react towards disabled people is truly interesting. Sometimes they are afraid, shocked, and sad. In my book, I have tried not to analyse or judge because we are not capable of analysing precisely. I only pose questions which each person needs to answer."