The question of empathy - Who has it, who doesn't? is vital to the diagnosis that currently segregates autistic individuals, well as Asperger people, into a "developmentally defective" sub class of humans.
The website www.autismandempathy.com which is edited and published by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg, provides an excellent and extensive critique of the Simon Baron-Cohen Empathy Quotient test, and the human rights implications presented by invalid assumptions behind the test.
Rather than attempting to duplicate the wealth of information at this site,
I will, in the next post, present the Empathy Quotient test itself, complete with answers that I would supply, if given the opportunity to honestly and thoroughly do so, and with annotations regarding my reaction to the questions.
Links to some additional articles:
On Not Being Human by Morton Ann Gernsbacher
Thinking About The Unthinkable by Lynne Soraya
The Empathy Issue is a Human Rights Issue by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
Unwarranted Conclusions and the Potential for Harm: My Reply to Simon Baron-Cohen by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
Deconstructing Autism as an Empathy Disorder: A Literature Review by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are encouraged but will be moderated. Thank-you.