Is there a word for a medic who jumps on the bandwagon of retrospective psychiatric diagnoses of famous people? Here we go again. The Irish Medical Times reports that Prof Michael Fitzgerald (Henry Marsh Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Trinity College, Dublin) believes that Charles Darwin had a mild form of autism. The evidence?
"Those diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome often have difficulties with social communication and interaction. Prof Fitzgerald believes Darwin shared many of these traits. He was a solitary child, as are many people with Asperger's syndrome. His emotional immaturity and fear of intimacy extended to adulthood. He avoided socialising and took long solitary walks, travelling the same route daily. He was also a compulsive letter writer; yet these were almost devoid of 'social chat'." http://www.imt.ie/news/2009/02/darwin_had_aspergers_syndrome_1.html A solitary child? As recounted by Janet Browne in the first volume of her biography, after his mother died when he was eight he was cared for primarily by loving older sisters. Of his time as a pupil at Shrewsbury School he recalled that he had "many friends among the schoolboys, whom I loved dearly", a recollection confirmed by a friend who recalled that "he was always cheerful and good tempered and much beloved by his school fellows". It was much the same when he was at Cambridge, with the additional unusual circumstances that he made lifelong friendships with at least two of the professors who shared his geological and natural history interests. Fear of intimacy? The tone of the letters of Darwin to his wife Emma, and of hers to him, indicate an extraordinary closeness. The same goes for his relationships with their children. (The devastation he experienced on the death of his beloved daughter Annie is well known.) His letters were almost devoid of social chat? I don't think the professor has been reading them closely. Of course, much of the contents of his letters was (inevitably) concerned with his scientific interests, but they also show his taking an interest in the family affairs of his friends and colleagues, as well as reporting on his own family situation. A compulsive letter writer? Darwin was socially isolated at Down, some two hours carriage drive from London, so much of his contacts with colleagues and friends could only be carried on by letter, in which he was continually exchanging views, information, and experiences with scientific friends. I fear we have here another example of the evidence being massaged to conform with a pet thesis. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
