‘Autistic Spectrum’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life

An article by an eminent philosopher promises to stir up controversy about introspection (metacognition) and understanding the mental states of others (mindreading), on the one hand, and autism and schizophrenia on the other.

A novel study tries to explain what appears to be the diametrically opposite nature of traits associated with autistic-spectrum disorders, on the one hand, and psychotic-spectrum disorders, on the other. With a particular focus on autism and on schizophrenia, the authors link social brain development and other phenotypic traits to evolutionary biology and genetics.