Greetings Economists,
Michael Hoover sent us an account in a recent "New Statesman" of the "Post
Autistic Economics" reaction in France against the emphasis on mathematics
in economic theory. While I share the skepticism toward the use of
mathematics in capitalist economics, the label Post Autistic Economics is
anti disabled. I think it worthwhile then to consider what is the problem
with mathematics in economic theory from the point of view of why this label
is anti disabled.
For example in the press account they (the New Statesman) write,
"The phrase "post-autistic" has a touch of Gallic cruelty about it "
Doyle
So the New Statesman as much as admits that some prejudice motivates the
labeling of an economics that is problem with a disability. Being aware of
the problem does not mitigate the common reaction that a metaphor is highly
useful way of conveying information. So is the label accurate?
The New Statesman article writes,
"autistic" is intended to imply an obsessive preoccupation with numbers "
Doyle,
This is the critical point of error. Autism is being conflated with
obsession. Is that a truth? Let's just take some online sources to
understand what I am getting at.
http://www.certec.lth.se/english/autism/kunskap_e.html
from a history of Autism,
"For a very long time, autism and psychosis continued to be confused and to
this day parents are accused of causing the serious disabilities their
autistic children have."
Doyle
I will paste below the short summary history I quote in part above so that a
general outline of Autism is present on the Pen-L list. But the quote above
is adequate to get my point across. An autistic is not an obsessive. The
claim that autism is a metaphorical description of mathematics in economics
conveys an accurate account of the issue of what goes wrong with economics
so described as 'autistic' is to an informed person about prejudice against
disabled people not a good metaphor.
If one were to pursue looking at Autism more deeply, then one would
encounter some important theories about what Autism is. The most important
theory in use to understand Autism in regard to what the French react to in
Capitalist Economics is called "Joint Attention" theory (see reference below
pasted in). A more informative way of describing the faultiness of the
metaphor of Autism is that the problem is a deficit of a language like usage
of mathematics in economics.
That seems to me to be of highly important relevance to the use of
Mathematics in Economics. There are considerable fields of research in
linguistics that both consider mathematics in human language and cognition
and as applied to communications tools. So we have the tools to approach
the problem with significant insight without resort to metaphors that are
bigoted and prejudiced.
To characterize economics that uses mathematics in "Joint Attention" terms
is to focus upon how information is shared and understood. The French are
obviously worked up by the use of statistics to form policy which is
incapable of listening to the results. An arbitrary ordering of society
through numbers that defy human experience. None of this sort of
understanding needs to be about labeling capitalist economists as about
disabled people parallels associations etc., and that is why this is a
problem. In particular this does point at understanding how to communicate
and areas in science that might yield insight and social reform or in my
view give the working class new tools to fight with.
thanks,
Doyle Saylor
http://www.certec.lth.se/english/autism/kunskap_e.html
The History of Autism
· In 1908, Eugen Bleuler coined the word "autism" in schizophrenic
patients who screened themselves off and were self-absorbed.
· In 1943, the American child psychiatrist Leo Kanner described 11
children with the following common traits: impairments in social
interaction, anguish for changes, good memory, belated echolalia, over
sensitivity to certain stimuli (especially sound), food problems,
limitations in spontaneous activity, good intellectual potential, often
coming from talented families. He called the children autistic.
· In 1944, Hans Asperger, independent of Kanner, wrote about a group
of children he called autistic psychopaths. In most aspects they resembled
the children of Kanner's description. The difference was that he did not
mention echolalia as a linguistic problem but that the children talked like
little grown-ups. In addition he mentioned their motor activity which was
more clumsy and different from normal children.
· Bruno Bettelheim wrote about three therapy sessions with children in
The Empty Fortress. He called them autistic and claimed that their disorder
was due to the coldness of their mothers. He totally disengaged the parents
from the children's therapy.
The work of Asperger did not become known until the end of the 1980s when
his book was translated into English. Kanner's and Bettelheim's work were
quite often confused and it was generally accepted that autistic children
had frigid mothers.
In the 70s, knowledge of autism begun to spread to Sweden. The Erica
Foundation started education and therapy for psychotic children in the
beginning of the 80s. The first autistic classes within special education
were started in the middle of the 70s.
For a very long time, autism and psychosis continued to be confused and to
this day parents are accused of causing the serious disabilities their
autistic children have.
Current theories about autism
· Autism is a innate contact disorder
Normally, infants early after birth orientate towards the human face and
voice and respond to voices and facial expression. Autistic children cannot
interpret another person's face and do not imitate as automatically.
· This is the reason why later in life they are not able to share
attention and experiences with others. Much experience is missed that way.
Early learning is usually passed from person to person by imitation. The
basis of socialization is contact and imitation.
· Difficulty in seeing another person's perspective, in understanding
the thoughts and intentions of others. There are researchers who believe the
basic cause of this is a difficulty in shifting attention. The same
attention-shifting difficulty would also lead to the ritualistic behaviors
and the difficulties in managing change; difficulty in interrupting one
activity and changing to another.
· Central coherence = does not automatically look for the meaning of
what is going on.
· Detailed vision. The world consists of isolated details and not a
coherent inner map.
· Processes information a piece at a time. Has difficulties with
information consisting of several parts.
· Has difficulties with void time when nothing happens as well as
changing from one activity to another.
Doyle
Obsession long predates the concept of Autism, see quoted date from the
dictonary,
Date: 1680 source Merriam Webster online dictionary
1 : a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or
feeling; broadly : compelling motivation <an obsession with profits>
Doyle
For Joint Attention theory see online,
http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/humanoid-robotics-group/cog/cog-publications/
springer-final-scaz.pdf.