2013/09/05 by Melanie Yergeau · 1 voice · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Neuroscience · #Embodied and Extended Cognition #Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations #Rhetoric and Communication Studies
paper · doi:10.18061/dsq.v33i4.3876
openalex publication_date 2013/09/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
This essay is an autie-ethnographic narrative that traces the problems with and limits of theory of mind (ToM) as it is currently constructed in psychology and cognitive studies. In particular, I examine the role of the body in ToM—or rather, the ways in which autistic people are disembodied in theories about ToM. I argue that theories about ToM deny autistic people agency by calling into question their very humanity and, in doing so, wreak violence on autistic bodies. I suggest, furthermore, that feminist rhetorical studies represent one potential location for dismantling the complex web of oppression that ToM has come to signify.Keywords: theory of mind; autism; rhetoric; violence; embodiment