modern psychology goes on and on abt fascinating new discoveries, but seldom do i ever read anything that acknowledges the immutable fact that we have spirits…
why is it so difficult for aspies to lie? is it becos we r more ‘moral’ people? i doubt so… click here for an interesting article by autism researcher, Simon Baron-Cohen in “In Character”… in the final paragraph, Baron-Cohen remarks:
“It is not that the neurotypical brain or the autistic brain is more evolved than the other: each has evolved differently, one to empathize and master the social climate, the other to systemize successfully so as to master the physical niche. The unique qualities of human intelligence are characterized not just by the capacity for mind-reading (and deception), which has enabled humans to work in coordinated activity unusually well, but also by the capacity to systemize, which has enabled humans to understand how things work, and to develop innovative technology par excellence. People with autism, who can perceive patterns better and concentrate better than their peers, are also more honest. Rather than regarding autism as a “disease,” we should recognize it as a difference that deserves our respect. Some features of it, like a learning or language disability, may benefit from treatment. But other features, like remarkable attention to detail and utmost honesty, are valuable human qualities.” (bold font added by me)
i m no individualistic moral heroine… nay, i hv tried for many many years of my life, at various crucial points, to conform to what others tell me is ‘normality’, especially to try to please those i love or hv loved… but these attempts hv almost always ended in disaster… and i almost always come out of it the loser, the fool, accused and condemned of ’sins’ which amaze me in their scope… but nobody seems to look into the moral mirrors of their own making and ask themselves, what drove the situation? how did we end up this way?
More from Baron-Cohen’s article quoted above: “This lack of “street smarts” boils down to not being aware that other people may say one thing but mean another. For the child with autism, there is only one version of reality. The other version (the world of beliefs and intentions) may be one he rarely glimpses, or grasps too slowly, too late. This tells us something very important: that the skills you need to survive and negotiate the social world involve mind-reading and meta-representation – and that the capacity to deceive is a marker that a child is developing typical social skills.” (bold font by me)
i cannot argue with Baron-Cohen, i am not an expert in psychology or neuroscience… so i guess i hv to take this research as true and accurate in it’s intent and purposes… i m just an aspie… and as an aspie, i KNOW i find it excruciating to lie – and white lies to me are just trickier lies, and half-truths are even worse than outright lies, becos half-truths are confusing and convoluted… and i always “get it” far too late…
but i also believe i hv a spirit… i m not interested in moralising… yet, i KNOW there is a God, to ME He is my creator and THE creator of all life… but i hv no interest in religiousity – organised religion of any sort frightens and repulses me… but apart from having a different mind, i also KNOW that i hv a spirit… a deep loving caring gentle tender spirit… but also a very brave one… and it has been my spirit that has kept me time and time again, especially during intense, painful clinical depression, from the edge of suicide, complete insanity or other kinds of self-harm… something that no amount of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has managed to do for me… and my spirit becomes disquieted and tormented at lies… my lies, or the lies of others…
and now, to lie or not to lie?… i m caught between the devil and the deep blue sea… but rather than live in this state of constant paranoid fearful suspension, i hv at last chosen one of the two, i choose the deep blue sea… i hv always loved this analogy… inside the deep blue sea, i can drown and die in peace, all trappings of untruth washed away, just me alone… and i hv always loved water… the sound of water, the feel of water wrapped around me, embracing me in its comforting weightlessness… yes, i choose the deep blue sea…
