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> My experience of people on the spectrum is they often just want a good clear reason to follow rules that seem like nonsense like bowing to authority I think

> My experience of people on the spectrum is they often just want a good clear reason to follow rules that seem like nonsense like bowing to authority I think that's usually correct. However, I would point out that does not constitute respecting the authority. The extra reason is needed because the authority is not respected unless judged to have earned that authority. Which is a very different attitude to the one I typically see from neurotypical people where it is often seen as a moral duty to respect an authority figure just because they have been given a position of authority by society.

layer8 3y ago
In general, respect needs to be earned, so I don’t quite agree that authority automatically implies respect for “neurotypical” people. To the degree that it is true, it might be because the fact that the person was put into a position of authority is taken as an indication that the person probably earned that authority, so is taken as a prior for their credences regarding that person. Also, respect doesn’t necessarily imply obedience or subservience.
- nicoburns 3y ago
  > To the degree that it is true, it might be because the fact that the person was put into a position of authority is taken as an indication that the person probably earned that authority, so is taken as a prior for their credences regarding that person. Also, respect doesn’t necessarily imply obedience or subservience. Seems like a weak prior to me, as people are very frequently put into positions of authority despite not deserving it. To be fair, I think I would also start with such a prior, I would just weight it very weakly and would expect the person's behaviour and decision making to live up to the position they have been given.
RHSman2 3y ago
I worked with a very autistic chap once. The most incredible mind and considering his levels of autism he was very self aware. He said that he should be treated like a computer when it came to work. Clear instructions, no ambiguity and with a clear reason. If the reason did not make sense then that could be an issue and we would discuss.
- yoyohello13 3y ago
  The fact that he wanted to be given clear reasons means he did not in fact want to be treated like a computer. Computers do whatever they are told exactly with no thought to reason whatsoever.

layer8 3y ago

In general, respect needs to be earned, so I don’t quite agree that authority automatically implies respect for “neurotypical” people. To the degree that it is true, it might be because the fact that the person was put into a position of authority is taken as an indication that the person probably earned that authority, so is taken as a prior for their credences regarding that person. Also, respect doesn’t necessarily imply obedience or subservience.

nicoburns 3y ago
> To the degree that it is true, it might be because the fact that the person was put into a position of authority is taken as an indication that the person probably earned that authority, so is taken as a prior for their credences regarding that person. Also, respect doesn’t necessarily imply obedience or subservience. Seems like a weak prior to me, as people are very frequently put into positions of authority despite not deserving it. To be fair, I think I would also start with such a prior, I would just weight it very weakly and would expect the person's behaviour and decision making to live up to the position they have been given.

RHSman2 3y ago

I worked with a very autistic chap once. The most incredible mind and considering his levels of autism he was very self aware. He said that he should be treated like a computer when it came to work. Clear instructions, no ambiguity and with a clear reason. If the reason did not make sense then that could be an issue and we would discuss.

yoyohello13 3y ago
The fact that he wanted to be given clear reasons means he did not in fact want to be treated like a computer. Computers do whatever they are told exactly with no thought to reason whatsoever.