Humans, Aliens & Autism

Author(s): Ian Hacking

Source: Daedalus, Vol. 138, No. 3, On Being Human (Summer, 2009), pp. 44-59
Published by: MIT Press on behalf of American Academy of Arts & Sciences
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 Ian Hacking

Humans,aliens& autism

V^ontrariesilluminewhattheyarenot. OliverSacksuseda remarkbyTemple

Aliens,typicallyfromouterspace,are Grandinas thetitleofan essayabout
almostbydefinition nothuman.Cur- autism,whichbecamethetitleofhis
rentportrayals ofaliensmayshowmore book AwAnthropologist
on Mars. Grandin,
aboutwhowe,thehumans,arethan an extraordinarily able autist,had said
theydo aboutourextragalactic contrar- to Sacks,"MuchofthetimeI feellike
ies. In portrayal
byopposites thereis an anthropologist on Mars."1She felt
oftena largedose offear: forexample, thatinteractions withotherpeoplewere
thatwe maybe all toolikethealienswe oftenas difficult as interviewing Mar-
imagine.Thatleadsto a paradoxabout tians.We moveon fromMarsto theex-
autismand aliens.A persistent tropein tragalactic planetAspergia, whoseden-
someautismcommunities is thatautis- izenshave,unfortunately, beenexiled
ticpeoplearealiens,or,symmetrically, toEarth.Theyfindthattheinhabitants
thatnon-autistic peopleseemlikealiens ofEartharealienswithwhomtheyare
to autists.Someautistsareattracted to forcedto sharea planet,whileearthlings
themetaphorofthealiento describe in turnregardthemas an alienspecies.
theirowncondition,orto saythatthey A nastyvariantwas usedin a disturb-
findotherpeoplealien.Conversely, peo- ingautismawarenesssoundbitegiven
plewhoarenotautisticmayin despera- widedistribution a coupleofyearsago
tiondescribea severely autisticfamily the
by advocacyorganization CAN: Cure
memberas alien. AutismNow.Aftera bitofominousmu-
I wonderlesswhatthisphenome- sic,an intensely concernedyoungfather
nonshowsaboutautismthanwhatit intones,"Imaginethataliensweresteal-
revealsaboutwhatitis tobe human.It ingone in everytwohundredchildren.
is tobe expectedthatwhatcontraries . . .Thatis whatis happeninginAmerica
teachmaynotbe something hidden, today.It is calledautism."Thisis thean-
butsomething thathas alwaysbeenon cientmythofthechangeling, thetroll
thesurface, almosttoobanalforus to childsubstituted in thedead ofnightfor
notice.The revelationoftheobvious an infantsleepingin hiscotat home.
is nottobe despised,foroftentheob- I spokeofsomeautismcommunities
viousis blinding. toyingwiththemetaphorofaliens.Au-
tismis a highlycontestedfield,and there
© 2009 byIan Hacking aremanycollectiveswithquitedistinct

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agendas.I haveto makeclearfromthe longtime.2Seventeenth-century Europe Humans,
startthat,farfromregarding people is especiallyrichin extraterrestrial uto- aliens &
autism
withautismas aliens,I believeittobe pias,satires,scientific speculation, and
a verysubstantial humanachievement moralreflection. Theirinhabitants, be
thatroomis beingcreatedforautistic they evilor models of virtue,servedas
peopleto livemorecomfortably among foilsforhumanbeings.In thatrespect
thosewhoarenotautistic.Moreand theyareliketheextragalactic creatures
moreresourcesareavailableto serve ofourday.Theyalso servedas a screen
suchends,and thesocialhistory ofthis question- a questionthat,likeFreud's
ongoingprogress promising of
is a tale screenmemories, hideswhatis really
hardwork,a rayoflight. beingasked,namely, whethertheindige-
Thisessayusesautismas a foil.What nouspeopleoftheAmericashad souls.3
is itaboutautisticpeoplethatprompts Aliensin modernspaceadventures
thetropeofthealien? How areautists maytalkandwalklikeus,butbydefini-
differentfromotherhumanbeings,in tiontheyarenothuman.Hencehuman
sucha waythata giftedautistcan feel and alienarea tightly bondedpair.Aliens
thatlivingamonghumansis likeliving can be betterthanus,as in moralfables
withMartians? How can a grossbutef- suchas ET.Mostofthetimetheyseem
fectivesoundbitecreatethesensethat tobe benton destroying us. Monsters
aliensaresnatching ourchildrento areterrifying, butwhenpushcomesto
makethemtheirs? I am oftheschool shove,theyarecloserto humansthan
thatthinksyoucan learnaboutX by aliens.Atleasttheyareon oursidein
reflectingon whatmakessomething Monsters vs.Aliens. In thatrecentmovie,
not-X.Whatdoes themetaphorofthe DreamWorksstudios'firstanimated3D
alien,insofaras it'sconnectedto au- release,a brideis hitbya meteoron her
tism,showabouthumanity? weddingday,and,likeAlice,growsto
fiftyfeettall,lessan inch.The U.S. Air
/'lien invasionis thelowestform Forcekidnapsherto a secretconcentra-
ofintergalactic
fiction,buttheword tioncampformonsters, populatedby
aliendatesbackto earliestEnglish,and Dr. Cockroach,Ph.D. (humanoidbody,
has alwayshad an associationwithoth- cockroachhead),a 350-foot-long grub,
ernessorforeignness. In America,the and theirilk.Earthis invadedbyan
term"residentalien"is usedfornon- alienrobotthatsetsaboutdestroying
citizensallowedto liveandworkin the theUnitedStates,and thepresidentre-
UnitedStates- a termso demeaning spondsbyenlisting themonsters, who
Americans
that,colloquially, tend to re- save America. :
Message prefer terrestri-
ferto immigrants as havinga greencard, al monstersto extragalactic aliens.A
ratherthanas beingresidentaliens.Al- metaphor for an immigration policy?
though"residentalien"isn'tincorrect Friendorfoe,aliensaredefinitely not
in itsdenotation,
I shalluse alienwith us. However,we seemto holdup aliens
itsrecentconnotations, whichseemto as mirrors to teachwhatis bestorworst
haveenteredcommonusageinpost- inus orin thehumancondition.Letus
WorldWarII sciencefiction. Aliens nowmovepastthisdoubletto a trian-
comefromouterspace- or,at least gleinwhichautismoccupiesthethird
fromsomewhereotherthanEarth. point,andwheretheverywordalienis
Humansand the"other-worldly" a second-order metaphor. Atzeroorder,
havebeenavailableas a duetfora very an alienis a foreigner. Atfirst order,an

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Ian alienis a rationaland sentientbeing Second,theDiagnostic andStatistical
Hacking
onbeing
fromouterspace.Atsecondorder, ManualofMentalDisorders (dsm) clas-
human thewordis usedas a metaphorfor sifiesautismas a mentaldisorder, a per-
thestrangeness ofautisticpeople. vasivedevelopmental disorder, in fact.
Butitis nota kindofmadness,ora men-
JnLardly anyonehad heardofautism taldisorderlikebipolardisorder. In the
beforeRainMan in 1988,sometwenty highly contested world of autism,some
yearsago.Thereis an astoundingstory argue that itis not a disorderat all,only
behindthewordautism - fromitsintro- a difference
fromotherpeople.Hence,
ductionaround1910as thenameof likeblackprideorgaypride,thereis
self-absorbedschizophrenic behavior, something akinto autismpride,which
through thename of a diagnosisfor at presentmaybe settling intoa "neu-
childrenin 1943,andup to itsradical rodiversity movement."
expansionin recentyears- yetuntil Membersofthislooselydefinedfac-
fairly
recently,thewordwas unfamiliar. tionagreethatautismis a neurological
Todayeveryreaderknowsaboutautism, condition,butso, afterall,is thestate
ifonlybecauseitis blazonedon every- ofwhattheycallneurotypicals. Mostpeo-
thingfrombillboardsto bus stopshel- ple who will read this essay are, despite
ters.Manyknowsomeonediagnosed ouroddities,neurotypicals. It is also
on theautisticspectrum, whichincludes truethatmanypeoplewhowillreadit
s
Asperger'syndrome. Sinceeveryone can,likeitsauthor,noticeautistictraits
has somecommonknowledgeabout in themselves. Formillenniawe neuro-
thecondition, myfirst taskis torecord typicalshaverefusedto acknowledge
tenreservations, qualifications, and neurodiversity and so (it is said) do not
cautions,in orderto guardagainstthis understand evenourselves.
orthatmisapprehension. Peoplewithautismarepartofthisdi-
Firstandforemost, all ofthosechil- versity,celebratedin an eraand a culture
drenand adultswithautismareverydif- suchas ours,wheredifference is under-
ferent fromeachother.Therearebooks stoodas a goodthing.The movementis
titledorsubtitled"TheAutisticChild," a fascinating development in theodyssey
butthereis no suchentity, theautistic ofautism.Butbeware: I havenoticed
child,as ifitwerea subspeciesofhu- thatwhenI say"neurotypical"in mixed
manbeings.One current slogan,"Ifyou orneurotypical company, manyneuro-
knowaboutone autisticperson,you typicalssay"neuro-normal" backto me.
knowaboutoneautisticperson,"cannot That'sexactly to missthepoint.The neu-
be emphasizedtoo much.In whatfol- rodiversity movementrejectstheidea
lowsI shallpayspecialattention to one thatthereis neuro-normality.
traitofautisminitsmoresevereforms, Thirdqualification : autismis filed
butI do notmeanto implythatanyone as a pervasivedevelopmental disorder,
diagnosedwithautismexemplifies this one thatcan be noticedveryearlyinlife.
traitto a strongdegree.I use an abstrac- Whatwe nowcallautismbeganas infan-
tionbasedon a stereotype ofthistrait tileautism,butneverforget thatautism
to thinkaboutall humanity; itdoes not isforlife.Thereis neithera knowncause
reflectin anywayon thedetailsofa life nora knowncure.Mattersstanddiffer-
livedbyanyindividual.I am usingau- ently,however, fromthewaystheystood
tismas a vehicle,and am notdiscus- a fewdecadesago.We nowknowhowto
singtheconditionin itsownright. workwithveryyoungautisticchildren,

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in orderto helpthemcompensatefor speakofbeingseverely autistic- which, Humans,
theirdifferences and adaptto theworld ifanything, coversan evenwiderrange aliens&
autism
ofneurotypicals. Manylabor-intensive ofindividuals.Spectrumis a metaphor
programs areavailable,althoughautistic fromoptics;ifwe areto use a meta-
communities saytherearenotyetnearly phorfromthesciences,I wouldprefer
enough. to speakofan autisticmanifold.But
We arealso doinga fairjob ofhelping theterminology ofspectrais too estab-
neurotypicals tobe lessuncomfortable lishedto rootout.
inthecompanyofautisticpeople.This Sixth,itis commonto distinguish
is nota groundforcomplacency, butthe threegroupsofdifficulties experienced
livesofmanyfamilieswithone ormore byautisticchildren, namely,socialand
severely autisticchildrenarea greatdeal linguistic difficulties
and fixedness ;
betterthantheycouldhavebeeneven thesepersistinvariousdegreesthrough
twenty yearsago. life.Thistriad,as itis called,maybe
A fourth reservation is thatthere moreofa mnemonicthana definition,
area greatmanyapproachesto autism, althoughitis canonizedin diagnostic
noneofwhichis definitive. Thereare protocols.It focuseson threedifficul-
also manyadvocacygroupswithdiffer- tiesdeemedtobe central,butthereare
enttargets, whichis whyI spokeofau- manyotheraspectsofautism,some
tisticcommunities in theplural.Some morephysicalthanmental.
ofthedifferences arisefromthenature Manypeoplewithautismhave
oftheautisticindividualsinvolved;oth- (a) variouskindsofdisadvantage in
ersarisefromverydifferent conceptions social interactions with neurotypicals.
ofautismand evenofdisability. Some Mostimportant forthepurposesof
autisticcommunities rejectthevery thisessayaretheirproblemsunder-
idea ofa cure,whichCureAutismNow standingwhatotherpeoplearedoing,
(CAN)espouses.Anotherorganization, thinking, and feeling.Manycannot
DefeatAutismNow! (DAN!) emphasizes readyourstateofmindfromyourbody
dietand supplements, amongother languagein thewaythatmostchildren
things.The Autism National Committee can.I do notreferhereto thetheory
(AUTCOM)urges that autistic peopleare that autistslacka "TheoryofMind";
therealexpertson autism.Atpresentit I meansomething priorto theory, not
arguesfortheimportance offacilitated something theoreticalabouta theory
communication, a techniquethatoth- and itsabsencein autists.I tryto stay
ersholdtobe a sham. closertophenomena,bestputbysay-
Fifth,itis nowstandardto speakof ingthatmanyautisticpeopledo not
theautisticspectrum and ofautistic immediately knowwhatanotherper-
spectrum disorders, "ASDs." A spec- son is doing and havetoworkitout
trumis intendedto emphasizetheprevi- fromclues.Thisis one part,butan es-
ous pointaboutvariety, buttheimageis sentialone,ofa largercanvasofdiffi-
problematic : spectraarelinearand au- cultiesin humanrelationships, includ-
tismisn't.The metaphorsuggeststhat ing those within the This
family. aspect
youcan arrangeautisticpeopleon a line, ofautism- which,to repeat,showsup
frommoreto less.It does makesenseto in innumerable waysand in manyde-
of
speak high-functioning people with -
grees myis focusbelow.Not surpris-
autism, but that covers an extraordinary ingly,we shallfindthatitis a primary
of
range people. It also makes senseto ground for the metaphorofaliens.

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Ian In addition,manyautisticchildren Aneighthobservation is thatno one
Hacking have(b) difficultiesacquiringspoken knowswhetherthese several problems
onbeing
human language,to thepoint that some are arise from a single neurological anomaly,
muteforlife,and many(c) areupset orhavedistinctcauses.Likewise,no one
bychange.Theytakewhatis saidliter- knowswhatis goingto help.Evenwhen
ally.Theydo notunderstand pretending, we havetwoautisticbrothers, and hence
andtheydo notplay,evenalone,in the a presumedsharedgeneticbasisfortheir
waysinwhichmostchildrendo. I call autism,a regimethathelpsone maybe
thisfixedness, butmanyotherterms uselessto hisbrother. Forexample,in
areinuse.A diagnosison theautistic CharlotteMoore'sbiography ofhertwo
spectrum demands that at least two of autistic sons,George and Sam, one boy
thesethreedeficits, ordifferences, are is muchhelpedbya gluten-and-casein-
apparent. freediet,butitis uselessforhisbroth-
Many autisticchildren find their dif- er.4Yetthebrotheris muchhelpedbya
ferencesfrommostpeopletobe both programintendedto helpautisticchil-
deeplyfrustrating and frightening. The dren"integrate" sensoryexperiences
communalandfamily worldsinwhich thatoverpower them; thisdoes nothelp
theyareexpectedto livearehospitable thefirst boyat all. (Moore is one parent
to mostneurotypical children, butare whoemphasizesthephysicalaspectsof
constantlythreatening formanyautis- autismthatareso oftenunderplayed in
ticones.Someofthemsuccumbtovio- textbooksand manuals.)
lenttempertantrums. Othersjustwant A ninthreservation, ofa different
to getawayto a safeplace,curlingup, type,is thatI shalluse thewordautism
forexample,in a closetoron a stairwell. to talkaboutanything saidtobe on the
Seventh,therearemanyaspectsofau- autisticspectrum. TakeAsperger's syn-
tismbeyondthetriad.Manyautistic drome,introduced about1980byLorna
childrenaresubjectto seizures.Many Wing,a Britishpsychiatrist, in thename
arehypersensitive to loud sounds,bright of a Viennese doctor who longbefore
colors,and itchysurfaces, eventhetex- had diagnoseda smallgroupofchildren
tureofa drink.A quitedifferent group withautisticdifficulties butwho did
ofproblems,sometimesgatheredun- nothavenotableproblemsacquiring
derthelabeldyspraxia, is quitecom- language.The nameAsperger's is now
mon.Itprimarily involvesmotorskills: oftenusedsynonymously with"high-
bad balance,a tendency tobumpinto functioning," buttherearealso debates
things,poorhand-eyecoordination, as to whether itis something different
in initiating
difficulties orstopping altogether.
movements, and evena poorhand- LornaWing,who also characterized
grasp, which makes it hard to use a key the triadofdifficulties mentionedabove,
ora pencil.Manydyspraxic children is no longercontentwiththeclassifi-
beginto crawl,stand,andjumpmuch cationshecreated.It is saidthatsome
laterthantheirpeers.Thus,although membersofthedevelopmental disor-
autismis usuallythoughtofas a clus- derstaskforceforthefutureDSM-V
terofmentaland emotionaldisabili- wantto eliminateAsperger's as a diag-
ties,theremayalso be manyphysical nosis. take position,exceptthat
I no
-
disabilities or,to speakwiththeneu- despitethecurrent popularity ofthe
rodiversitymovement, many physical label "Asperger's," I shallavoid it.I
differences. use autismfortheentiremanifoldof

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 Thisdoes notim-
associateddifficulties. takerubellaveryseriously,and consid- Humans,
erithorriblethatparents,relyingon aliens&
plyany criticismofthe verylargenum- autism
berofpeoplewhocheerfully callthem- ill-foundedrumorsaboutvaccinesno
selvesAspies.Likewise,I shallnotsay longerin use,havestoppedvaccinating
"on theautisticspectrum." Once we theirchildren.
haveagreedthatautismis polymorphic
in itsmanifestations,itis betterto speak /Vutismpickedup thetropeofthe
simply ofautism. alienabouttwenty yearsago. It has
A tenthremarkconcernssomeall-too- beenflourishing in someautisticquar-
frequently-asked questions.I shallan- ters,and is reviledin others.Forstarters,
swertwoofthemwithoutargument, not therearebookswithtitleslikeThrough
totakea stand,butto evadetheques- theEyesofAliens, whoseauthoris herself
tionswhileshowingwhereI do stand. autistic,6or,Women from Another Planet?
One questionis aboutincidence: are whoseauthoris afflicted by,amongoth-
therereallymoreautisticchildrenborn erthings,Asperger' s syndrome and has
everyyearthaneverbeforein history? organized a women's collectiveto tell
Aretheamazingincreasesin reported storiesoftheirliveswithAsperger' s.7
prevalencedueto an epidemicofau- A chapterin thelatterbookis called
tism?Myansweris no.The increasesare "How I cameto understand theneuro-
thanksto expandingcriteriaofdiagno- typicalworld."8Youcan heartwotypes
sis,muchgreater alertnesson thepartof ofvoicebehindthetitlesofthesebooks:
primary-care physiciansand teachersto yes,we arealiens,and itis greattobe
thepossibility ofautism,andto thefact different,quirksand all; no,we arenot
thata diagnosisofautismgetsa troubled aliens,we arewomenhereon Earth,
childmuchbettercareforspecialneeds outto reorganizesocialnorms.
thananyotherdiagnosis.Thusa decent Thereis also a newgenreoffiction,
GPwiththeoptionofdiagnosingautism featuring novelsinwhichan autistic
willalmostalwaysdo so,becauseitis character playsan essentialpartin
goodforthechildand thefamily. theplot.A significant proportion of
A secondquestionis aboutthemercu- theseworksarewritten byparentsor
ryintheold-fashioned MMR,whichin- relativesofautisticchildren, including
cludesthemeaslesvaccine.Does itpre- MartiLeimbach's DanielIsn'tTalking,
disposetoward,orcause,autism?No.5 a bookthatresonateswithmanypar-
Butletme add a caveat.A child'sbrain, entsofautists.In thatnovel,we areset
fromconceptionto theage oftwoyears, up fromthestart: shoppingwithher
growsat a prodigiousrate.It is an unbe- mother, thetwenty-two-year-old future
lievablysensitiveinstrument, putting motherofDaniel says,"I couldonly
itselftogether overthecourseofthirty- givebirthto an alien."Hermotherre-
threemonths.We shouldbe verywary plies,"Youwillhavethemostbeautiful
ofsubclinicaltoxicsubstancesin theen- babies."Lateron in thebook,afterher
vironment. Mytwoyoungest grandchil- sonis diagnosedwithautism,Daniel's
drenareundertwo.Whentheirrespec- motherfeels"as thoughI startedthe
tivemotherswerepregnant, I strongly journeythismorning withmybeloved
urged both mothers to go organic,and littleboyand am returning witha slight-
to avoidthearmoryoftoxiccleansers ly alien,uneducable time bomb."9
foundin mostmodernhomes.I take Anothernovel,CammieMcGovern's
toxicity veryseriouslyindeed.I also thrillerEyeContact, features a ten-year-

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Ian old severely autisticboywho (perhaps) mother'samazingteachingpractices.
Hacking
onbeing
witnessesthemurderofa slightly older In a reviewofIversen'sbookon Ama-
human girl.A special-needs aide says,"I used zon's U.S. site,Mukhopadhyay writes:
to think: Herearea bunchofkidsso "ThebookStrange Sonfeltlikea 'slap' on
brilliant,so trulyaheadofus intellectu- myface Myactionshavebeenmen-
ally,theycameoutofthewomb,took tionedas 'beastly,''alienbeing,''pos-
one lookaroundthisscrewed-up world sessedbya demon.'"He hatesmanyof
and saidto themselves, Good-bye.I'll Iversen'sstatements, suchas, "WhenI
go on living,butnothere.Noton this lefttheirapartment thatdayI feltas if
planet/'10 I'd glimpsedintothemindofan alien
The tropeis foundin sciencefiction, being."14Somepeoplefindthetrope
as wellas in talesforchildren.OfMice ofthealiena powerful wayto statethe
andAliens combinesbothgenres.Zeke, obvious, while others finditodious.
an alien,crash-lands in thebackyard
ofBen,a boywhohas recently been In 2005,Bob and SuzanneWright
declaredto haveAsperger' s syndrome. foundedAutismSpeaks.It hasbecome
Together theysetoutto exploreBen's theengineofcharitiesforautismre-
suburbanAustralian worldand itsin- searchin theUnitedStates,and itis now
habitants."WithBenlearningto cope assumingthatrolein theUnitedKing-
withhisnewlydiagnosedAsperger' s dom.Mr.Wrightis CEOofNBCUniver-
syndrome, and Zeke to
trying cope with sal,and a powerhousein thecorporate
lifeon Earth,thingsarenotalwaysas world.Whydidhe and hiswifefound
theyseem."11Hereitis notautistsas AutismSpeaks? He is oftenquotedas
"
aliens,butaliensand autistsin cahoots. saying,"I wantmygrandsonback! The
Allpermutations seemtobe played metaphorofabductionfeelsoverpower-
out.PamelaVictor'scharacter Baj,on ingto somefamilies ; a babythatwas a
theplanetAulnar,has notonlya flying lovelyhumanbeinghas disappeared.
bicycle,buta magicalcommunication JimSinclair,in a talktitled"Don't
kit(theWordLauncher)and an invis- MournforUs,"15counteredthisatti-
ibleCalmingCape.Thereis also the tude.He urgedparentsnotto go around
equivalentofa magicaleartrumpet, piningfora childtheywantedbutnev-
whichenablesBaj to spotthepoint erhad.To Sinclair,thereneverwas the
ofwhatsomeoneis sayingto him.12 grandsonthattheWrights thought
they
Backin therealworld,contrastsuch had.Iftheyneedto mourn,theyshould
enthusiasm foralienswithTitoRajar- go to a griefcounselorwhohelpspar-
shiMukhopadhyay's reactionto Por- entsofchildrenwhodiedin infancy.
tiaIversen'sStrange Son.1^Mukhopad- Sinclairwas speakingforyetan-
hyay, seriously
handicappedexcept otheradvocacyorganization, GRASP:
whenhe is at a computerkeyboard, The Globaland RegionalAsperger Syn-
is a giftedautisticauthor.Strange Sonis dromePartnership. Fortheautistic
aboutIversen'sownson,and hisand child,he said,itis theparentsandthe
herencounters withMukhopadhyay and neurotypicals who arealien:
hismother.Iversenis a founderofCure
AutismNow,whosealienabduction Eachofus [autistic
people]whodoes
ad was mentionedearlier.Shebrought learntotalktoyou,eachofuswho
bothmotherand sonfromIndiato manages tofunctionatallinyourso-
Americaso shecoulddisseminate the eachofuswhomanages
ciety, toreach

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 outand makea connectionwithyou,is alreadyknows.Thusin thedialogueDe Humans,
in alienterritory, Cicero has Crassus "the face aliens&
operating makingcon- Oratore, say, autism
tactwithalienbeings.We spendouren- is an imageofthesoul,whiletheeyesre-
tirelivesdoingthis.Andthenyoutellus flectit."18Cicerois notidlyrepeating
thatwe can'trelate. somepieceofgeneralknowledge.His
is
The tropeofthealien,then,is symmet- protagonist discussingthedelivery of
a speech,and seemstobe counselingthe
ric: autisticpeoplearealiens; orneuro-
oratorto use hiseyesas ifhe meanswhat
typicalsarealiensforautisticpeople. he says: evenifyoudo notfeelsuch-and-
I havealreadymentionedan entertain-
suchan emotion,use youreyesto simu-
ingversionthatcombinesbothangles, latetheemotion.HereCiceroexploits
namelyAspergia.16 "Eachhumancul-
an alreadywell-understood conceit.
turehas a mythology to accountforits
Itis muchthesamewithSt.Jerome,
existenceandwhenceitcame.Now we
" who ofcourseknewhisCicero.Writing
haveone too! Aspergiais today'sAt-
to a widow,tellingherhowtopreserve
lantis,a planetfromwhichtheAsper-
hermodestyand chastity, Jerome be-
gianscametoEarth.(One bloggercalls a "Avoid the
gins paragraph, company
Aspergiaherutopia).Aspergians have
ofyoungmen."He goeson towarn,
foundthatEarthis inhabitedbysome
"Thefaceis themirror ofthemindand
alienformoflifecalledhumans.
a woman'seyeswithouta wordbetray
Whydoesthemetaphor of thealiencrop thesecretsofherheart."19
so in and
up often fact fiction ? Let us take
Dante's Convívio, composedafterthe
TempleGrandin'scomment- "Much deathofBeatriceas a poet'sversionof
ofthetimeI feellikean anthropologist
The Consolations is a strange
on Mars"- seriously fora moment. ofPhilosophy,
work, partsof which arewritten in the
Wittgenstein thought,"Ifa lioncould
formofpoemsfollowedbycommentary
talk,we couldnotunderstand him."17
on thepoems.The soul,writesDante,
Ifa Martianspoke,wouldwe under-
"revealsherselfin theeyesso clearlythat
standit? Onlyifwe sharedorcameto
theemotionpresentin hermaybe rec-
sharesome"formsoflife,"someways
oflivingtogether. Thatis precisely the ognizedbyanyonewho gazesat them
intently."20Thisis partofa commen-
problemfora personwithsevereautism. on thelines :
Autistic tary
peoplehavea greatdeal ofdiffi-
cultysharinganyformoflifewiththe Inhercountenance appearsuchthings
neurotypical community. But the evoca- As manifest a part thejoyofParadise.
of
tivephrase,"formoflife,"is nevermore I meaninhereyesandinhersweetsmile,
thana pointer;we needtobe morespe- ForhereLovedrawsthem, as tohimself.
cificaboutwhat'smissing.
The "her"ofthecommentary is con-
struedas Dame Philosophyherself,
lhe eyesarethemirror ofthesoul,"
and theentireworkis an incredibly
orwindowto thesoul.AtleastsinceRo-
overworked conceit.Mypointis only
mantimes,someversionofthismaxim
thatDantewas playingwitha sayinghe
hasbeenin circulation, evidentin such
couldassumeto be familiar to anyone.
places as the Latinproverb, Oculusanimi
To judgebyprinteddictionaries of
index.The well-known literary figures
proverbs, the maxim as a
appears prov-
whouse thissayingplaywithitas a
erbin all modernEuropeanlanguages.
standingreference pointthateveryone A listof
Englishprintedversionsofthe

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Ian saying,from1545to thepresentdecade, of anotherarenota windowtothesoulof
Hacking
onbeing
is readilyfoundin theOxford Dictionary thatother Emotions,saysDante,
person.
human ofProverbs,withthelastentrytaken can be recognizedin theeyesbyanyone
froma SouthFloridathriller: "Allthat "whogazesat themintently" ; butthatis
windows-of-the-soul bullshit."The exactly what most seriously autistic
peo-
speaker, usuallydismissiveofeyesas ple cannotdo : gaze at theeyesintently,
windows,recantson lookingat an old orperceiveemotionstherein.
schoolphotoofthevillain.He hadbeen Conversely,theeyesoftheautistare
viewingtheFBI'sstate-of-the-art digital nota clearmirror ofthesoulwithin,as
processing ofphotoson a screen."Itwas neurotypicals would expect.Manyau-
excellent work,butlikeeverycomputer tisticchildrenseempositively cherubic
enhancement he'd seen,something whentheyareatpeace. (Yes,cherubs
was lostfromtheoriginalphotograph. arefromanotherworld.)Yetone can-
Somesparkin theeyes."In thesmall notsee whatis goingon in theirheads.
classphotothereis "a broodingdefi- Someneurotypicals arefrightened by
ance,"suchas one mightsee in torture theblankness,fortheyfeelthatmaybe
victimswhosewholesenseoffearhas thereis no soulthere.
mutated, but"also a glintofbitterhu- Butthereis theface,too.Analogous
mor.Thiswas somesmuglittlealien sayings, evidencedbyCicerohimself,
bastard."21 Notfromouterspace,Hal referto thefaceas mirror orimageof
isjusta verynastypieceofwork,a thesoul.Dante's stanzabegins,"In her
"psychopath" employedas an assas- countenanceappearsuchthings,"forit
sinbya drugcartel. was theeyesand themouththatstruck
The fadedphotograph, withthose thepoet.Thatis precisely whysmiley
is
eyes, something of a window on facesand theirvariantsaresuchgood
Hal's soul."On thetelevisionscreen, icons.Theyarenowused,in someteach-
however, hiseyeswereflatand empty. ingregimens, to trainautisticchildren
Drainedofanyhintofhumanity by howtorecognizetheemotionsofoth-
thedigitalrendering." Thisis a shrewd ers.
observation. The farther youarefrom Cicerodiscussedthefaceand eyes
thematerialbody,thelessyoucan see in thelargercontextofthebodyand
in theeyes.Noticethattheherosawa itsgestures.So letus turnto thewhole
broodingdefiance; he inferred fromsuch body,itsmovements, and itsstance.A
cuesthatthiswas somesmugbastard. pointeasilymissedis that,whetherit
is theeyes,theface,orthebody,thetra-
lhe eyes,as mirrorofthesoul,or ditionthatis packedintotheproverbs
as windowon thesoul,haveserved alwaysconveystheidea ofseeingdirect-
as a standardmetaphorin theWestfor ly,and notofinferring. Thereis no ap-
millennia.Autismconnectswiththis parentreasoninggoingon : onejust
metaphor bywayofautists'notorious looksinto,orthrough, theeyesto see
witheyecontact.Forwhat-
difficulty thesoul.Moregenerally, as Wittgen-
everreason,autisticpeople,whenthey steinhas it,"The humanbodyis the
lookat someone'sfaceat all,tendto bestpictureofthehumansoul."22
focuson thelowerpartoftheface(the
mouthand chin)and nottheeyes.This Wittgensteinwas hardlybeingorig-
phenomenonhas an immediateconse- inalwhenhe pennedthataphorism,
quence. Fora personwithautism,theeyes speakingfroma tradition
at leastas old

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as Cicero.His remarkis one ofmanyin I, though,believeKöhleris absolutely Humans,
PartII of thePhilosophical correctin describingthephenomena; aliens&
Investigations autism
thatseemto encapsulateideasfound thereis nothingworththenameofin-
in themiddlepartofWolfgang Köh- ferencehere.The friend justsees; he
ler's Gestalt first
Psychology, published has a "directpicture."Of course,in
in 1929.23(Wittgenstein devotedsome everyone ofKöhler's examplesthere
ofhisclassesto thefirst editionofthat willbe caseswhichcallforinference.
book.) Köhlerthinksmanyaspectsof The pointis notthatone neverinfers,
thebodyprovide"pictures"ofthein- butthatoftenonejust"sees." A neu-
nerthoughts and feelings.ForKöhler, rocognitivistmayinsistthattheremust
itis notonlystance,butalso body-lan- always be a "computation" thatpasses
"
guage,as we nowsay: [N]otonlythe fromthesensoryinputto an under-
so-calledexpressive movements but standingofthementalstateofanother
also thepracticalbehaviorofhuman person.Köhlerwouldsaythat,ifso,
beingsis a goodpictureoftheirinner itmustbe differentin kindfromthe
life,in a greatmanycases."24 "computation" involved in inference.
Bothmengivenumerousexamples Köhlerknewhe was onlydescribing,
ofsuchphenomenaofseeingin the and he hopedthatlatergenerations of
eyesand inthemovements ofthebody, workerswouldbe able to explainand
as wellas through agitation, whata per- understand thephenomenon.He wrote
sonfeels,thinks, orintends; seeingthat thathisaccount"givesus neitheran
a personis in a bad mood; noticingthat altogether newnoran altogether per-
a childbothwantsto toucha dogand fectkeyto anotherperson'sinnerlife;
is frightened ofdoingso. Köhleris now ittriesonlyto describeso faras itcan
mostly remembered forhisworkwith thatkindofunderstanding whichis the
apes,andforhistheoryofvisualorga- commonproperty andpracticeof mankind."
nization,partoftheGestalttheoryof He hopedforfuture work"whenthe
perception. But themiddle of his book simpler factsdescribed in thischapter
is densein closeobservations ofordi- willhavefoundmoregeneralacknowl-
narybehavior, someofwhichwerere- edgement."27
castintoelegantphrasesbyWittgen- I do notthinkwe havefullycometo
stein.25 Hereis a morecomplexcase: termswiththe"simplerfacts"Köhler
presents.Theycertainly bearon autism,
Ifmyattention isattractedbya strange forthatkindofimmediateunderstand-
object,a snakeforinstance, I feeldirect-
thatKöhlerdescribedis notthecom-
edtoward itandatthesametimea feeling ing
monproperty andpracticeof thatpartof hu-
oftension isexperienced. A friend, evenif
mankindthatis autistic.
hehasnotrecognized thesnake,willsee
meandespecially my andeyesdirect- We should attention
face
to Köhler's
edtoward it;inthetension ofmyfacehe pay
willhavea visualpicture ofmyinnerten- and Wittgenstein'scontrast between,on
the one hand, what one sees in theeyes,
sion,as initsdirectionhehasa direct pic-
tureofthedirection whichI experience.26 face,body, and the movements and ges-
turesofanother, and,on the other hand,
Somereaderswillsee in thisvignette the whatis inferred. The existenceofsuch
friendinferring fromKöhler's behavior immediateunderstanding does notim-
thathe is unnerved, and inferring where plythatwhatone seesis merelytheexer-
tolookforthesourceofKöhler's feeling. ciseofan innatefaculty, foritis to some

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Ian extentlearnedoracquiredin thecom- tivetheory. We do notinferotherminds
Hacking
onbeing munity ofothers.Forexample,one does byanalogy;instead,we comeequipped
human notso readilysee whatforeigners are witha TheoryofMindmodule,a facul-
doing,letalonesee intotheirsouls,as tyforattributing mentalstatesto other
is thecase withone's compatriots. people.Thishas becomea canonical
Köhler's phenomenashouldmake partofpsychology, muchpreferred to
us rethink an ideawidelysharedbyana- modelsofanalogyorinference. The idea
lyticalphilosophers : theidea thatone was inaugurated byDavid Premackand
knowsthemindofanother- orindeed Guy Woodruff studying chimpanzees.
thatothershavemindsat all - "byanal- Quicklyitled in 1983to thefalse-belief
ogywithone's owncase." We wouldbe testsdevisedbyHeinzWimmerandJo-
betterto heedLevVygostky's proposals, sefPerner.Autisticchildrenfarepoorly
thatconceptsofthementallifecome on thesetests,whichrequirethinking
laterthanan understanding ofcommu- aboutwhatotherpeoplebelieve,given
nallife,andare"internalized" notas theevidencethattheypossess.Thanks
an entryticketto society, butonlyin the to SimonBaron-Cohen, AlanLeslie,and
courseofgrowing up and livingamong UtaFrith,amongothers,thetestshave
groupsofpeople,starting withtheex- joinedthearsenalfordiagnosingautism.
tendedfamily. Manypeoplehardlywastethetimeto
Underlying the"OtherMinds"pic- writeout"TheoryofMind"anymore,
tureis a fundamental misconception, theyjustwrite"T0M."291do notfollow
namelythatI gettheidea ofmindand thispractice,becausetheveryfactthat
soulfromknowledgeofmyownmind. we use an abbreviation makesus takeit
The reasoningseemsstraightforward. forgranted, as somesortofprovenfact.
I knowwhatI thinkand feeland hope One greatvirtueoftheTheoryof
for; I knowwhomI loveandwhom Mindapproachis thattheabilityto
I despise; I knowmyleftfootis sore. knowwhatotherpeoplefeeland think
How do I know?Bylookinginsidemy- is no longersupposedto be a matterof
self,howelse? analogicalinference, as theold Anglo
Thatpicturepromptswhatis called philosophers thought. Rather, itis an
theProblemofOtherMinds.It is not innatecapacity, one thatkicksin at an
a universalortimelessproblemofphi- earlystageas thechildmatures,and
losophy.Itwas broughtto theforeonly whichmaybe associatedwitha Theory
in theearlytwentieth centurybymen ofMindmentalmodule.As a corollary,
suchas WilliamJamesandBertrand itdoes notkickin as early,oras well,for
Russell.28How do I knowwhatyouare mostautisticchildren.
thinking sinceI cannotlookintoyour Further speculationis fuelledbythe
mind?Byanalogyto myowncase,an- idea ofmirror neurons.Brainscansin-
sweredRussellandJames.Laterin the dicatethatwhenJonesseesthatSmith
century, analyticphilosophers saidthat is sad orangry, bloodflowsto those
itis notanalogy, butexplanationthatis sameneuronsitflowstowhenJones
used.I explainyourbehaviorbypostu- himselfis sad orangry.In general,when
latingthatyouhavea mindlikemine. JonesobservesSmithdoingsomething,
Thisis called"an inference to thebest orfeelingan emotion,theverypartsof
explanation." Jones'sbrainthatareactivatedwhenhe
The nextstepinthissequenceofideas is so actingorfeelingareactivatedbyhis
is partoftheoverallrepertoire ofcogni- observingSmith.Thisphenomenon, it

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maybe conjectured, underliesthephe- Moredisturbing is an inability
even Humans,
nomenadescribedbyKöhlerand apho- to see whatautisticchildrenaredoing. aliens &
autism
rizedbyWittgenstein. Theiractionsmakelittlesense,theirin-
Hencethereis promisingresearchthat tentionsareopaque.Withtheseverely
suggests that themirror
neurons ofau- autistic,itmayseemas iftheydo not
tisticpeoplearenotinworkingorder; evenhavemanyintentions. Hencethey
eithertheyareabsent,ortheyfunction aretakentobe emotionally "thin"chil-
I emphasizethatthesefasci-
differently. dren,whogrowup to be "thin"men
natinginvestigationsarestillopen,how- andwomen,lackinga "thick"emotion-
ever.A cynicmayproposethatthestory al life.Or so ithas seemedto mostpeo-
is beingtoldbackward:Jones'srelevant ple,includingmanyparentsand many
neuronsareactiveon seeingSmithsad clinicians.
simplybecausehe sees Smithsad - not, Atbest,thefeelingsand emotionsof
he seesSmithsad becausehissadness theseverely autisticmustbe inferred.
neuronshavebeentriggered. We arenotevenconfident ofourinfer-
ences,notbecausewe lackenoughevi-
JjLavingacknowledged someofthe dence,butbecausewe maydoubtthat
trulyexcitingtheoriesand conjectures theconceptsthathaveevolvedovermil-
aboutthemindnowin circulation, letus lenniaforthedescription ofneurotypi-
returnto thephenomenadescribedby cals areaptfortheautisticlife.Hereitis
Köhler.Theyarefamiliar to mostpeople, necessaryto repeatmyfirstcaution.I am
butareprecisely whatarenotfamiliar, usingan abstraction fromone ofmany
automatic, immediate, or instinctivefor autistic traits in order to thinkaboutthe
mostautisticpeople.As we havesaid, human condition, am notspeaking
and
theyarenot"thecommonproperty and directly to questionsaboutthenatureof
practice"ofthatpartofmankindthatis autismortheexperienceofautisticindi-
autistic.Expertobservers reportthatau- viduals.
tisticchildrendo notsee thatsomeone Languagematters. I wouldguessthat
is in a bad humor; theydo notfollow as longas therehas beenhumancom-
thedirection ofa startledperson'sgaze; munication, therehavebeenwaysto
theydo notreadilyunderstand whatan- describe emotions and intentions. Per-
-
otherpersonis doing thatis,theydo hapsthatis a mistake.Perhapsthereis
noteasilyrecognizeintentions. a longprehistory ofhumanself-realiza-
Conversely,ordinary people cannot tion. That is, the Vygotskyan projectof
see whatan autisticboyis doingwhen, a
craftinglanguage for the emotions of
to takea banalexample,he is furious- othersand ourselvesmayhavetaken
lyflapping hishands.Whaton earthis many,manygenerations ofourremote
hand-flapping? The parentorotherout- ancestors to complete. And onlylatein
siderknowsvaguelythattheremustbe prehistory, on thisscenario,wouldthis
somekindofagitation, yet the child language have beeninternalized. What
seemsso tranquilwhenhand-flapping. is nowcalledfirst-person authorityover
Articulate autiststellus howcalmingit awarenessofourownemotionalstates
is. So we arenowableto infera bitof would,then,havecomeintobeingslow-
what'sgoingon; butinstinctive neuro- ly.Ifso,individualswithautismwould
typicalwaysofinteracting withother nothavestoodoutin thesamewaythat
peopledo notenableus tolookand see theydo now.(I am herespeakingofpre-
whatthechildis feeling. history, notofthequitedifferent fact

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Ian thatcompulsory universalelementary Neurotypicals and severely autistic
Hacking
onbeing
educationwas a prerequisite fornoticing peopledo notinitially sharea form
human variouskindsofcognitivedifficulty in a oflifebecausethebedrockis lacking,
systematic way.) and so an artificial platform mustbe
Whateverevolutionary psychohisto- constructed. That is one wayto de-
ry we choose to imagine, itis a fact that scribe what is going rightnow.In
on
therehasbeena languagefortheinten- retrospect, we shallalmostcertainly
tions,desires,and emotionsofother see today'sInternet as makingpossi-
people for all of historicaltime. It was, ble a formoflifeinwhichautisticpeo-
however, crafted byand forneurotypi- ple can thrive.It is precisely themedi-
cals.We areonlyjustbeginning to adapt umforhumancommunication that
thatlanguageto theautisticlife.In this does notdependon bodylanguageor
we aremuchhelpedbyautobiographies, eyecontact- in short,itdoes notneed
novels,andtheimmensely richworld Köhler'sphenomena.
ofautismlivedon theInternet. It is very Whatdistinguishes us fromaliens(as
commonto saythatautobiographies de- we depictourcontraries) is notoriously
scribeautism"fromtheinside."301sug- notrationality, butouremotionallives.
gestthereis littleready-made language We arefellowhumansin thatwe grasp
to describethisinside,and thattheauto- eachother'sintentions, feelings, wants.
biographies and the are
blogs creating it Köhler's phenomena enable such under-
right now. standing to be taken for in
granted our
commonwaysoflife.Theyarethebedrock
We asked,"Whydoes themetaphor of ourhumanity.
ofthealiencropup so oftenin factand Thisconclusionis "obvious"; yetbe-
fiction?"We can nowstatean answer: causethephenomenaareso familiar,
becauseoftheabsenceofKöhler'sphe- ittakesan acuteobserverofhuman
nomenainrelationsbetweenneurotypi- and animalbehaviortopointitoutto
calsand autisticpeople.Thesephenom- us. It takesa greatphilosopher to see
ena arethe"bedrock"fora "sharedform whattheobserverhas noticed,and to
oflife,"to use twoofWittgenstein's castthatintoan aphorism.The insights
compelling Not
phrases. only does Tem- of KöhlerandWittgenstein havebeen
ple Grandin feel likean anthropologist virtually forgotten, even when thelat-
on Mars,butneurotypicals feelthey ter's aphorismsarecitedin thought-
areconfronted byunintelligible Mar- lessawe.Aninquiryintothetropeof
tianswhentheyfirst confront thereal- autistsand aliensmayhavebeenuseful
ityofautism.It is important thatshe notonlyto noticesomething aboutau-
says Mars, and not Papua New Guinea. tism, butalso to remind us of a funda-
Innumerable are
languages spoken in mental fact about human beings.
thatpartoftheworld,and thecustoms Köhlermadean interesting observa-
firstencountered are
byEuropeans pass- tion on the score of what is obvious. "It
ingstrange. But in no time at all,visitors is not our fault to a
that, deplorable de-
andinhabitants weretalking, generat- gree,theobvioushas disappearedfrom
ingcréoles,takingadvantageofeach learnedpsychology, so thatwe haveto
other.Theydidnotsharea common rediscover it."31Thereis a greataffini-
buttheysharedsomething tybetweenWittgenstein
civilization, and Köhleron
farmorefundamental, capturedby this attitude to what we do notnotice,
Wittgenstein's metaphor of bedrock. both because it is always before oureyes,

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and also becausewe theorizeinsteadof nowcommonpracticeto tryto teach Humans,
themhowto infer thefeelingsand in- aliens&
looking. autism
tentionsofotherchildrenand adults
JLtis wellto concludewitha quitegen- frombehavior,gestures, and toneof
erousremarkabouthumannature.We voice.Thereareevenpostersshowing
tendtobe exclusive.Anthropology and whatmanypeoplelooklikewhenthey
sociology teach that human groupshang arehappyorsad. Thesemayinclude
together partly because of who theyin- devicesas simpleas smileyfacesand
cludeandpartlybecauseofwhotheyex- theirkin.Therearefarmoreelaborate
clude.Ourinstinct has alwaysbeento programsto teachhowto tell,forex-
excludealiens,first theterrestrial ones ample,whenthepersonyouaretalk-
andthentheextraterrestrial. Thereare ingto is gettingbored,so thatyouwill
a fewfansoftheSETIproject,theSearch notgo on enthusing aboutthetopic
forExtra-Terrestrial Intelligence, who on which yourpassionsarefixed,be
see themselves as welcomingintelligent itbrontosauruses orelectriccoffee-
beingsfromouterspace.Butin general, makers.
theruleis "keeptheothersout." Thereis immensecontroversy about
Neurotypical societyhas certainly whathelpswhatperson.Sometimesbit-
excludedseverely autisticpeople,con- terwordsareexchangedas one school
at
signingthem, best, to therole of vil- ofthoughtand actionconfronts another.
lage idiotsor feralchildren, and, at Desperateparents of theseverelyautis-
worst,consigning them to institutions tic It is
tryeverything. becomingpretty
that,inretrospect, seemabsolutely hor- clearthatno specificagendais goodfor
rific.Whetherornotthemetaphorhas everyautisticperson.Butthereis good
beenused,thepracticehasbeento ex- reasonto hopethat,as I said at thestart,
cludetheseverely autisticas ifthey thesocialhistory ofthisongoingprog-
werealiens.Butnowthereareremark- ressis a promising taleofhardwork.It
able endeavors afoot that aim at inte- is a of
ray light in the rathergloomyhis-
grating autisticindividualsintoa larg- tory ofhumans of the pastfewdecades.
ersocialworld.
Precisely becauseautisticchildrendo
notshareinKöhler's phenomena,itis

ENDNOTES
1 OliverSacks,"An December27,1993; reprinted
on Mars,"TheNewYorker,
Anthropologist
on Mars: SevenParadoxicalTales (New York: Knopf,1995), 295.
in Sacks, AnAnthropologist
2
perhaps,withLucianofSamosata(ca. 125- ca. 182),A TrueStory,
Starting, trans.A. M.
Mass.: HarvardUniversity
Harmon,Loeb ClassicalLibrary14(Cambridge, Press,1968),
247-357.
3 A shortbutwisepassagein Leibnizcapturesmanyoftheuses ofaliens; NewEssaysCon-
theHumanUnderstanding,
cerning trans.Jonathan Bennettand PeterRemnant(Cambridge:
Cambridge Press,
University III,
1981), vi,section22,as wellas thenotes.(This is mostly
omittedfromtheabridgededitionof1982.)
4 CharlotteMoore,GeorgeandSam: TwoBoys,OneFamily, andAutism (London:Viking,
2004).

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Ian 5 Leaveasidethestatistical analysesoftheCentersforDisease Controland otherauthorities
Hacking (which,as itturnsout,detectno effect)to considerthatJapancutmercury outofvaccines
onbeing at thefirstwhiffoftrouble,and therapidincreasein autismdiagnosescontinuedmuchas
human in theUnitedStatesand theUnitedKingdom.
6 Jasmine Lee O'Neill,Through theEyesofAliens : A BookaboutAutistic People(London: Jessica
Kingsley Publishers,1998).
7 JeanKearnsMiller,Women from Another Planet?OurLivesintheUniverse ofAutism (ist
BooksLibrary, 2003).Millersaysshehas beendiagnosedwithattention deficitdisorder
withAsperger's syndrome traits,as wellas majordepression.
8 Ibid.,141.
9 MartiLeimbach,DanielIsn'tTalking (London:FourthEstate,2006), 4, 91.
10 CammieMcGovern, Contact (New York:Viking,2006), 60.
Eye
11The
quotationis fromthebackcoverblurb.KathyHoopmann,OfMiceandAliens(Lon-
don: JessicaKingsley Publishers,2001).Thisbookis a sequelin theAsperger Adventures
seriesto Hoopmann'sBlueBottle Mystery (London:JessicaKingsley Publishers, 2001),in
whichBenfirstfindsoutwhatails him.
12PamelaVictor, andtheWord Launcher : SpaceAgeAsperger Adventures inCommunication
Baj
(London: JessicaKingsley Publishers, 2006).
13PortiaIversen,Strange Son: TwoMothers, TwoSons,andtheQuesttoUnlock theHiddenWorld
ofAutism (New York:Riverhead Books,2006).
14Ibid.,129.
15A talkgivenat theInternational Conference on Autism,Toronto,1993,andpublishedin
OurVoice,thenewsletter ofAutismNetworkInternational ; availableat http://www.grasp
.org/media/mourn.pdf. One self-described "deconstruction" ofSinclair'smaybe found
on a websitewhosenamerepudiatesthetropeofthealien: Whose planetis itanyway ? The
sitefeatures a blog,"Don't Mourn,GetAttitude" (August 9, 2006), whose the
title, author
explains,"is intendedto makeone thingclear:We arenot,and neverwere,extraterrestri-
als flying aroundin UFOs,freakish mutants wandering thegalaxy,or alienslostin space,
andwe havejustas muchrightto be on PlanetEarthas anyoneelse."The blogrefersto
theumbrellaorganization AutismSpeaksas a "hategroup"; http://autisticbfh.blogspot
.com/2006/08/dont-mourn-get-attitude.html.
16I am
quotingfromhttp://www.aspergia.com/, accessiblethrough 2006,butno longer
active.
17LudwigWittgenstein, Philosophical rev.3rdtrans.(1953;Oxford:Blackwell,
Investigations,
2001), 190e.
1° Cicero,De Oratore,3.221: "Utimagoestanimivoltus sicindicesoculi,"fromCiceroontheIdeal
Orator,trans.JamesM. MayandJakobWisse(New Yorkand Oxford:OxfordUniversity
Press,2001),294.
19St.Jerome, Letter
Letters, 54,ToFuria.I haveusedtheold translation fromThePrincipal
Works ofSt.Jerome,trans.W. H. Fremantle (Oxford:Parker& Company,1893).The Loeb
version,Select
LettersofSt.Jerome, trans.F. A. Wright(Cambridge, Mass.: HarvardUniver-
sityPress,1933),has theaccuratetranslation, "The faceis themirror ofthemind,and eyes
withoutspeakingconfessthesecretsoftheheart,"buttheolderversionbetterconveysthe
intentoftheletter.
20 Dante,Convívio, TrattatoIII, chap.8,betweenlinemarkers 9 and 10: "Dimostrasi
neHocchi
tantomanifesta,eheconoscersipuòla suapresente chibenelà mira," fromDante'sII
passione,
Convívio(TheBanquet) , trans.R. H. Lansing(New York:Garland,1990),111.
21JamesW. Hall,
Rough Draft(New York:Macmillan,2001),23.I do notknowwhetherthe
authorintendedit or not,buthe givesHal traitscommonamongautisticpeople,including

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 echolalia,thepracticeofrepeating
backwhata speakerhasjustsaid.He cannotbe said to Humans,
experience mosthumanemotions,buthe has learnedto workoutwhatotherpeopleare aliens&
autism
feelingand howitwillaffecttheirbehavior.
22 152e.
Wittgenstein,Philosophical
Investigations,
23 WolfgangKöhler,GestaltPsychology (New York: Horace Liveright,1929).
24 Ibid., 250.
25 I provide exact citationsin "AutisticAutobiography,"PhilosophicalTransactionsof theRoy-
al SocietyΒ (BiologicalSciences)364 (1522) (2009) : 1467- 1473.1 owe my firstreflectionson
Köhler and Wittgensteinto JanetteDinishak, "Wittgensteinand Koehler on Seeing and
Seeing Aspects" (doctoral thesis,Universityof Toronto, 2008). She has helped me a good
deal with this and otherwritingson autism.
26 Köhler,Gestalt 250-251.
Psychology,
27 Ibid., 266 - 267 ; emphasis added.
28 An
earlydiscussion of the Problem of Other Minds is in JohnStuartMill, An Exami-
nationof Sir WilliamHamiltons Philosophy and of thePrincipalPhilosophicalQuestionsdis-
cussedinhisWritings(London:Longman,Green,Longman,Roberts& Green,1865),
ChapterXII.The Problemseemsto be insular,peculiarto theEnglishlanguage.There
aremajorentriesforOtherMindsin standardEnglish-language philosophicalencyclo-
pedias(Edwards,Routledge, Stanford Online),butnotin thoseofotherlanguages.We
find,forexample,in Frencha "problème desautresesprits"onlywheretheauthorrefers
In theirbooksProblems
to Anglowriters. ofPhilosophy, whichmarktheonsetoftheidea
thatphilosophyconsistsofproblems,suchas theProblemofOtherMinds,bothJames
andRussellpresenttheproblem,and thesolution,byanalogy.
29 David Premackand GuyWoodruff, "Does theChimpanzeeHave a TheoryofMind?"
BehavioralandBrainScience1 (1978): 515- 526; Uta Frithand FrancescaHappé,"Theory
ofMindand Self-Consciousness : Whatis itLiketo be Autistic?"Mind& Language14
(1999): 1-22.
3° See Hacking,"Autistic forexamplesofthispractice.
Autobiography"
31 Köhler,GestaltPsychology
, 350.

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