Janko Nešić will present his perspective on dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder in his lecture titled “Autism: Dysfunction or Adaptation?”. The lecture is scheduled for November 1 at 11:00 AM CET and will be held in the Grand Hall of the Institute of Social Sciences (as well as online via Zoom). The lecture will be in Serbian.
Contemporary psychiatry views mental disorders/illnesses through the medical model and from a perspective of dysfunction. Such approaches to psychiatric disorders have recently been criticized (from phenomenological psychopathology, enactivism, and the neurodiversity movement).
In one of the previous lectures, Justin Garson argued that schizophrenia should be seen as a strategy rather than dysfunction, a claim that can also be made for depression. Similarly, from an evolutionary perspective, one can think about other mental disorders as developed cognitive styles (ADHD and bipolar disorder).
I aim to demonstrate how autism (autism spectrum disorders, DSM-5) can be viewed through this radically different approach. Can autistic behavior and experience be characterized solely as dysfunctional? In contrast to traditional psychiatry, a de-pathologizing understanding of autism has long been advocated in the neurodiversity movement. If we can change the perspective on autism, and consequently on autistic people, we can strive to create social changes that would allow the talents and abilities of these individuals to flourish and develop.
Janko Nešić, PhD, Research Associate, Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade, Serbia. He is a researcher with international research and project management experience. He works on topics from the philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and philosophy of psychiatry, with a focus on integrative approaches to psychiatry that combine enactive, ecological and phenomenological perspectives.
This is the ninth lecture in the “Philosophy and Psychiatry” seminar series organized by the Center for Philosophy at the Institute of Social Sciences.
You can also participate in the discussion via Zoom platform.
https://zoom.us/j/97711109768?pwd=M3Qvb09MUVdtOUlUZTJiTWJpTkZZUT09
Meeting ID: 977 1110 9768
Passcode: 198737
