Aristotle on the Spectrum

“We could arrive at a saner approach to autism by drawing on Aristotelian virtue ethics. Unlike Kant’s approach, virtue ethics recognized that most ethical questions can’t be answered by the simple application of rules; good judgment is also required. And virtue is the precondition to exercising good judgment. On this approach, we can treat autism as a temperament: an aspect of the personality that affects how a person is disposed to grow in the virtues. This allows us to accept autism as an important component of a person’s personality—and as something which we shouldn’t try to change—without requiring us to be relativists about the good and the bad or to be fatalistic. Instead, a diagnosis can provide insights into a person’s strengths and weaknesses, set realistic expectations for her development, and provide a path for growing in virtue that is consonant with her personality.”

read more at First Things.