This paper provides an empirical analysis of philosophical engagement with autism and autism research. We conduct a comprehensive scoping review to systematically map and summarise the philosophical literature on autism. Initial data suggest that philosophy has done an astonishingly poor job of keeping up with critical and conceptual developments about autism. We take these results to be particularly relevant to the philosophy of science insofar as many false or misleading claims about autism (including claims about defining characteristics, causal explanations, prevalence rates, etc.) come directly from scientific research on (e.g., nosology, aetiology, epidemiology, etc.). Consequently, it is somewhat surprising that philosophers of science have had relatively little engagement with autism and autism research.

Travis LaCroix, Alexis Amero, and Benjamin Sidloski

Draft available here

Presented at the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (Montréal, 2024)

Presented at the Dalhousie Philosophy Department Colloquium Series (Halifax, 2024)

The main goal of this paper is to explore the value-ladenness of scientific inquiry by examining some key moments in the history of autism research. Autism research has, historically, encoded the values of non-autistics. However, rejecting the value-free ideal of science opens the door to examining competing sets of (non-epistemic) values that might influence and direct scientific research. Using formal diagnosis and self-identification as a case study, I argue for the prioritisation of the values of autistics and autistic communities.

Travis LaCroix

Presented at the Dalhousie Philosophy Department Colloquium Series (Halifax, 2024)

Draft forthcoming!

Experimental ‘evidence’ for the theory-of-mind-deficit explanation of autism amounts to pseudoscience.

Travis LaCroix

PhilSci-Archive Preprint

Presented at the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (Toronto, 2023)

Presented at the Dalhousie Philosophy Department Colloquium Series (Halifax, 2023)

In her book, The Ethics of Autism: Among Them but Not of Them, Deborah Barnbaum suggests that there cannot be a community of autistic persons. This paper demonstrates that the argument Barnbaum forwards in favour of this claim is unsound.

Travis LaCroix

Presented at the Dalhousie Philosophy Department Colloquium Series (Halifax, 2022)

Draft forthcoming!