Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Dogmatism, and homosexuality

[Jim Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Doyle writes:
> The discussion thread is about opening up the concept of dogmatism through
> a concept called "theory of another persons mind".

Uta Frith (a German-born psychologist or psychiatrist based in London
studying autism) applied the "theory of mind" theory to autism: those with
autism cannot look at matters from another's perspective (or at least have
a very hard time doing so). (Summarized by Stephen Edelson, Ph.D., "Theory
of mind refers to the notion that many autistic individuals do not
understand that other people have their own plans, thoughts, and points of
view. Furthermore, it appears that they have difficulty understanding other
people's beliefs, attitudes, and emotions." see
http://www.autism.org/mind.html. It's also been used for studying chimps,
who may or may not have a theory of mind.)

If the common view that Asperger's syndrome is in the middle of a spectrum
between classical (Kanner's) autism and "neurotypical" (so-called normal
people) is true, then those with AS have a weaker theory of mind than
neurotypicals and a stronger one than those with classical autism.

(BTW, Tony Attwood, an English-born AS maven working in Australia, posits
the autistic disorder spectrum as follows in his books: classic autism --
high-functioning autism -- Asperger's Syndrome -- loner -- neurotypical. In
his lectures, he replaces "loner" by "professor." It's for laughs, but
there's a lot of truth to it, especially at research-oriented universities.
However, I think an AS-type culture develops at universities which
encourages AS-type psychology to prevail even with neurotypicals.)

> ... There are two important ways that Jim talks about this disability.

I have a visceral negative reaction to those who want to replace the word
"disabled" with cutesy Pollyanna-type words like "differently-abled" or
"handicapable," but in this case it may be appropriate. As Oliver Sachs
writes (in AN ANTHROPOLOGIST ON MARS), people with disabilities often
develop excessive capabilities in other ways that compensate for their
disabilities. Or maybe they are just a little unbalanced, being weak on one
spectrum but strong on another. People with AS have a social disability but
are usually pretty strong on other spectra...

> ...  Let me try to clarify what that is again through using Asperge's
> syndrome.  It is hard for Jim to know another's mind in the sense of
> understanding feelings.  ...

it's important to understand that autism and AS are _developmental_
disabilities. That means that one's ability to "know another's mind"
develops _slowly_ and incompletely compared to that of ordinary folks. It's
not a yes/no thing, like flipping a switch but more of a delay. It also
means that many with AS -- and some with hard-core autism -- can learn to
live in "normal" society in an almost "normal" way. (This usually involves
having a somewhat restricted life, to minimize the need to always have to
adapt...)

More precisely, the problem is that someone with autism or AS lacks the
_intuitive_ feel for what others are thinking or feeling that ordinary
folks have: they lack what Simon Baron-Cohen says is the inability to read
the language of the eyes, the ability to read others' emotional states by
the appearance of their eyes, and/or lack the ability to understand others'
body language.

However, someone with autism or AS can gain an _intellectual_ feel for what
others are thinking or feeling. That's one reason why I study psychology
(non-behaviorist, of course) and argue against those Marxists who pooh-pooh
psychology. (Most NC economists are worse on this score, holding onto their
non-psychology of utility maximization with dogmatic fervor.) One can also
learn the language of the eyes and body language, but it takes time. It's
easier for those with AS than for those with classical autism.

in a separate message, Brad asks:
> Lest this list remain guilty of flatness of affect, how is your kid doing?

I don't know if the list would be interested, but what I'll do is edit a
message I just sent to a friend.

He's in Florida with his grandparents and his cousin (who's also 10 years
old). He's having a ball. He's very tall these days, only a few inches
shorter than Fran [my wife]. His behavior is fine (when he's not tired,
hungry, distracted, etc.), though we've had a lot of trouble with his
teacher who is totally oriented toward behaviorism, ignoring how important
his morale is. Luckily, she's moving on to another job.

G goes to a special "nonpublic school" (i.e., independent from the public
school, but all of the money comes from the public school system), one that
is specifically aimed at dealing with kids who have poor "socialization."
It's not like a voucher system or a school choice system at all, since the
public school can't handle him and refuses to try in-house. (There's no
choice.) His life is ruled by the IEP (the individualized education plan),
agreed upon by both schools, that sets detailed goals for his academic
life. He takes about an hour to get to school in the morning (in a van with
other kids), but luckily the school is setting up a branch nearer to our house.

In the near future, we're going to get rid of one of his psycho-meds. I'm
looking forward to that, though the transition may be difficult. He's on
three different medications, none of which are specifically aimed at
dealing with Asperger's syndrome, but are instead aiming to help with some
symptoms (some not related to AS). Frankly, I don't think meds are the way
to go with him. I think that as long as he's not tired, hungry, or upset,
he typically does fine. Unfortunately, two of the meds make him tired...

BTW, one of our many psychologists tells us that G's IQ is off the scale.
Of course he can't do basic arithmetic and he has HORRIBLE handwriting (not
to mention weak social skills), but what the heck.

Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx &  http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine