Abstract
This article argues that autistic people occasionally experience greater comfort from imposed routines than from a yielding form of love and understanding, which I will call naive humanism Collins's theory of action, with its attention toward the achievements residing in a reductionist approach can help to point out the flaws of a naive humanistic stance. It would, however be a mistake to stop at this point and remain satisfied with the problem-solving capacity of such a reductionist stance. In a ward for autistic youths, the risk of cruelty resides in a purely mechanistic stance as much as in a naive humanistic approach. Thus, the social context of care of autistic people urges us to question the scope of a traditional scheme of thought, which cherishes a deep distinction between humans and machines.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 399-424 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | Science Technology & Human Values |
Volume | 23 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1998 |