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SUMMARY:Ethical\, Legal\, and Social Implications of Cognitive Models of A
 utism - Prof Kenneth Richman\, Professor of Philosophy and Health Care Eth
 ics\, School of Arts and Sciences\, MCPHS University
DTSTART:20170301T103000Z
DTEND:20170301T113000Z
UID:TALK70183@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Amber Ruigrok
DESCRIPTION:As in many areas of science\, neuropsychological models of aut
 ism tend to cite explanatory but unobservable mechanisms such as the “sh
 ared-attention mechanism” (Baron-Cohen) or the “self-other switch” (
 Bird and Viding). Although constrained by the data\, the character of thes
 e models and the debates about them suggest that choosing one model over a
 nother is at least partly a matter of judgment about best fit\, plausibili
 ty\, or reasonableness. This talk will look at the ethical\, legal\, and s
 ocial implications of these choices. The implications are particularly sig
 nificant when it comes to moral responsibility. For instance\, there might
  be situations involving the criminal justice system in which understandin
 g autistic behavior as evidence of “mindblindness” would lead to acqui
 ttal for a serious crime when an “extreme male brain” view of the same
  behavior would lead to jail. Further complicating matters are the competi
 ng theories of moral responsibility offered by philosophy and law. Specifi
 c cases will be used to raise questions about the extent to which such bro
 ad contextual concerns should inform the conduct of autism research.
LOCATION:Large Meeting Room (groundfloor)\, Douglas House\, 18B\, Trumping
 ton Road
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