The Autistic Mind in Society. A Wittgensteinian Argument Against the Scientific Method in the Social Sciences

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Philosophy - Theoretical (Realisation, Science, Logic, Language), grade: 8,0, Maastricht University (University College Maastricht), course: Tutorial, language: English, abstract: This paper aims at defending this position and will exemplify how the existence and effects of autism can be seen as a strong argument in this debate.

If we were to drop a stone from a bridge we know it will fall down. We know the cause is gravity and the effect will be the stone hitting the ground. Through observation and induction we got to establish the law of gravity and through the method of deduction we can predict every item we drop will, under normal circumstances, is likely to hit the ground. Some philosophers such as Karl Marx or John Stuart Mill for example believe this way of making laws cannot only be applied in the natural sciences but also in the social sciences. From their deterministic viewpoint, the cause of an individual action is either defined by the economic structure or human nature respectively (Hollis, 1994a). The premise is, there is an overarching law human behaviour responds to.

This naturalistic thinking led many philosophers to argue in social sciences there cannot possibly exist definite laws that explain human actions. Besides, that is not the intention of the social sciences. Rather than predicting behaviour, it is the aim to understand the meaning of individual action and relate it to a societal context.