Just thinking to myself, thinking as I type.
Some of the most severely autistic are, arguably, gods locked in chains and shackles, Promethean figures in a sense. In more nearly literal terms, the adaptation that links their minds to the world is drastically weakened, but in its place has grown a marvelous intellect and, possibly, a rare sort of soul. This, of course, refers almost strictly to the "autistic savant," but what I'm to suggest would also be beneficial to those who suffer from severe mental "retardation." In an age in which mechanical prostheses are not only fairly possible but, in some cases, fairly applicable, it is fairly inevitable that a person who has a fascination with the human brain would be struck with an interest in applying the concept at a deeper level, essentially the human brain. If the problem with the autist's brain is a deficit of communication between one part of the brain and the other, what, then would be the consequence of not only repairing this deficiency of communication but, in time, altogether surpassing it in efficiency and sophistication? To suggest something even more radical, what if we were to implement technologies that all but omit the necessity of some of the more primitive parts of our brains? Now, considering the multitudinous neurotransmitter systems that such a radical alteration would complicate, it may not be immediately worthwhile to pursue any truly transhuman projects. In time, perhaps so, but humanity would gladly wait eternity to truly improve itself, so long as the status quo serenely appears to persist. The significance of autism and other such neurological disorders (schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, racing brain, etcetera) to this is that, if necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps adversity is the womb of innovation.
This may be an old concept, but what has occurred to me is probably a bit more radical. For example, the conservatives shriek incessantly about the standard by which we evaluate what constitutes "poverty" progressing from the old evaluation of "necessity" to a newer, more expensive one, thereby causing any sensible person to consider them significantly more qualified for the label of "ret*d" than our autistic comrades. In the same sense, many people today sneer at the number of personality disorders that are being treated as diseases. However, something that has occured to me lately is this: if we are to progress as a species and culture, it may be necessary to hold what was once a tolerable quirk of character to be, in this day and age, to be an unacceptable thing to allow to continue. Just as many of the fast-moving economies in the world now consider something as luxurious as a mobile phone and internet access an outright necessity, perhaps we should equally take remedial measures for such conditions as ADHD as a new, universal standard, pushing up the mark. Just as those economies, far from suffering from the dispirited workforce predicted by conservatards, have become some of the most successful economies in the entire world, perhaps we should exercise a little more respect for those who are attempting to find treatments for autism, particularly if we have transhumanist aspirations.
Now, for those who are skeptical of transhumanist philosophy, do consider how far we have come as it is. Arguably, with today's technology, we are already living in a post-human world. We have bartered our immune systems for vaccination and medicine. We have traded in our legs for motor vehicles, trains, and jetliners. We have exchanged our eyes for spectacles and corrective surgery performed with lasers, and we have sacrificed our temperature regulation system for air-conditioned buildings. We have created an infrastructure through which to facilitate a massive symbiosis man, machine, and Mankind that results in the synthesis of something more keenly intelligent and powerful than any individual human lifeform: modern civilization. I argue that, far from being a sign of us going soft, our insistence upon labelling the things that we do as diseases and disorders is no more so than a stem cell that partially cripples itself to become a vital part of a human body is less evolved than staff bacteria. Why should we depend upon old-fashioned biological evolution when it has already neatly provided us with the ability to do so much more? Is it really less natural for us to improve our way of life and ability to enjoy it with technology than it is for a bee to build a hive out of its spit?
In essence, I suppose that I am positing a defense of Asperger's being treated as a disorder. It's just some stuff that has occurred to me of late.
04 Feb 2007, 6:00 pm
