Michael Fitzgerald presents his stimulating study of male creativity and autism (autism
being far more common in males than females), arguing that a major genetic endowment
is a prerequisite of genius, and that cultural and environmental factors are less significant
than has often been claimed. He illuminates his argument with studies of historical
figures who showed enormous capacity for creative activity, yet had immature
personalities and deficits in empathy and social interaction skills.
Chapters on the diagnosis and psychology of autism set the scene for a detailed
examination of a number of important historical figures. In the Indian mathematician,
Ramanujan, the classic traits of Asperger’s syndrome are shown to have coexisted with
an extraordinary level of creativity. More unexpectedly, from the fields of philosophy,
politics and literature, scrutiny of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Sir Keith Joseph, Eamon de
Valera, Lewis Carroll and William Butler Yeats reveals classic autistic features.
Autism and Creativity broadens our understanding of high-functioning
autism/Asperger’s syndrome, and considerably widens the diagnoses. It will prove
fascinating reading, not only for professionals and students in the field of autism and
Asperger’s syndrome, but for anyone wanting to know how individuals presenting
autistic features have on many occasions changed the way we understand society.
Michael Fitzgerald is the Henry Marsh Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
Trinity College Dublin, and Clinical and Research Consultant to the Irish Society for
Autism. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a member of the Royal
College of Surgeons in England, and an associate member of the British Psychoanalytical
Society. |