Neurodiversity, Autism, ASD, and Other Categories in Psychiatry and Mental Health

Topic of the conference: What should we mean by “neurodiversity”? What is the relationship between the categories “neurodiversity,” “autism” and “ASD”? Why are these categories useful? What are their limitations? What do we know about the mechanisms, developmental trajectory, phenomenology, and social attitudes associated with “autism” or “neurodiversity” in different countries, communities, and times? What are the consequences of employing the category “neurodiversity,” “autism,” or “autism spectrum disorder” for self, social and scientific understanding, for stigma and inclusion, or for over- or under-medicalization and diagnosis? More generally, what should categories relevant for psychiatry and mental health look like? What should the roles of clinicians, psychiatrists, patients, family and friends, and the public be in working out valuable categories of mental illnesses and mental health? …

Who, Where, When, and How: We will explore these and related questions during a one-day Symposium. The Symposium will feature invited talks by Prof. Rachel Cooper (https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/ppr/people/rachel-cooper) and Dr. Sam Fellowes (http://www.samfellowes.com/), and a selected number of submitted talks. Organized in association with the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Wetenschapsfilosofie (NVWF) and supported by the Department of Philosophy at Tilburg University, the Symposium will take place at Mindlabs (https://www.mind-labs.eu/ Tilburg, The Netherlands) on Monday the 16th of December 2024. Participation is free and all are welcome, but registration is required.

If you would like to attend the Symposium, please send your registration to Matteo Colombo with subject line “Tilburg Phil Psych registration” by Sunday December the 1st 2024, indicating whether you would like to attend online or in person.

Inquiries about the symposium may be directed to either Matteo Colombo ([email protected]) or Hanne Jacobs ([email protected])

Keynote Talks 

Rachel Cooper - "Identities and Disorders"

Autism and ADHD are often considered disorders, but increasingly claimed as identities. In this talk I will show how David Lewis's counterpart theory can be employed with Harry Frankfurt's volitional account of identity to help make sense of the idea that conditions such as Autism or ADHD might be central to someone's identity. 

Sam Fellowes - "Philosophically Analysing the Double Empathy Problem"

The double empathy problem posits that there is a mutual lack of empathy between autistic and and non-autistic people rather han autistic people having an internal lack of empathy. This is taken as supporting a neurodiversity position because it means autistic people are just different rather than disordered. I critique the double empathy problem and evidence taken to support it. Firstly, it is unclear what notion of empathy is being employed. Secondly, the double empathy problem seems only distantly related to some aspects of empathy, such as 'feeling what another person feels'. Thirdly, experimental evidence taken as supporting the double empathy problem is unlikely to detect some important aspects of empathy.

Full Program (timezone CET) 

9:30                    Coffee

9:55                    Welcome

10:00                  Keynote

                           Sam Fellowes - "Philosophically Analysing the Double Empathy Problem"

11:00                  coffee

11:30                  Veronica Fantini – "Phenomenology and Self-Diagnosis. Evaluating the Risks                               of a New Approach to Psychiatry"

12:00                  short break

12:15                  Gert-Jan Vanaken – "Contesting the Clinic. A Neurodiversity-Affirmative Take                             on Autism Diagnosis"

12:45                  lunch break

14:30                  Rita Kimijima-Dennemeyer – "Function-Based Conceptions of Disorder and                               Autistic Heterogeneity: A Problem for Neurodivergent Liberation?"

15:00                  short break

15:15                  Jo Bervoets - "The neurodiversity paradigm?"

16:15                  short break

16:30                  Keynote

                           Rachel Cooper - "Identities and Disorders"

17:45                  Reception