What Autism Taught Us About Our Social Nature

Abstract

Autism has influenced social-cognitive neuroscience in important ways. It has provided the impetus to look for the brain basis of mentalizing and encouraged the search for the brain bases of other social abilities. A fundamental aspect of social interaction is the ability to predict what other agents are going to do. We propose a hierarchy of three worlds—the world of objects, the world of agents, and the world of ideas—that respectively present their own challenges and solutions to such predictions. The world of ideas provides a direct interface between individual minds and other minds (i.e., culture). We highlight the power of culture to change subjective experiences and the power of subjective experiences to influence culture. The example of autism shows these mutual influences at work. These influences have led to dramatic changes in the concept of “autism” since its first use in child psychiatry.