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I think the ethics situation can easily be answered by asking the question: Given the small chance of a genius or otherwise brilliant person arising from a cog

I think the ethics situation can easily be answered by asking the question: Given the small chance of a genius or otherwise brilliant person arising from a cognitive disorder, would you voluntarily give that person autism? I do believe that autistic people can genuinely contribute to society and have the potential to be inordinately intelligent in certain areas, but I think given the difficulties that it gives most people, it is not our choice to give that to anyone, after weighing the overall risks and rewards.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago
>Given the small chance of a genius or otherwise brilliant person arising from a cognitive disorder, would you voluntarily give that person autism? If I could choose, I would never make anyone homosexual. Even in the more tolerant societies, there is still some institutional discrimination with far more non-institutional discrimination. To say nothing of some countries where they are outlawed if not killed for who they are. And even if there was no discrimination at all, the rate of homo/bisexual individuals of their preferred gender is far lower than the rate of heterosexual individuals, giving them a slight handicap in finding a SO. But I would not consider homosexuality a disorder. Now, a distinction can likely be drawn between homosexuality where it is purely discrimination causing the problems vs. autism where it is a problem even in an accepting environment, but something like Asperger's seems to be in a middle gray area that I've yet to see a way to place. While I would never choose for anyone to have Asperger's, they are able to live functional lives, though these lives do tend to have difficulties and pains that are not a part of the life of someone without Asperger's.
- alexggordon 11y ago
  I think given the discrimination of gay people in the world, it's very hard to make claims like "the rate of homo/bisexual individuals of their preferred gender is far lower than the rate of heterosexual individuals, giving them a slight handicap in finding a SO". If discrimination of gay people is so rampant, how can we really know what the preferred bias really is? The other major issue I have is with enough science, parents have a choice in stopping autism, however sexual orientation is not genetic, and therefore should never be the choice of a parent to attempt to "choose" their child's orientation.
  - Lawtonfogle 11y ago
    >If discrimination of gay people is so rampant, how can we really know what the preferred bias really is? You can look at changes in the rates of people who report to be homosexuals between different societies who discriminate at different levels. You can also studie non-human species (especially other great apes) and notice what their numbers are like between species. It does get messier when you start to count bi-sexuals, and especially when you consider a scale instead of a trinary classification, but it is pretty extreme to think that homosexuals make up the same portion of the population as heterosexuals. >however sexual orientation is not genetic, and therefore should never be the choice of a parent to attempt to "choose" their child's orientation. We still don't fully know what it is, but likely whatever it may be, one day we will have the ability to control it (I'm not talking about the current pseudo science of gay to straight conversion, but that one day we will have a much better understanding of the entire brain and will have the technology to modify it in ways that would be alien or magical right now).
- abandonliberty 11y ago
  s/homosexual/black s/homosexual/female It worries me how well these fit.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago

>Given the small chance of a genius or otherwise brilliant person arising from a cognitive disorder, would you voluntarily give that person autism? If I could choose, I would never make anyone homosexual. Even in the more tolerant societies, there is still some institutional discrimination with far more non-institutional discrimination. To say nothing of some countries where they are outlawed if not killed for who they are. And even if there was no discrimination at all, the rate of homo/bisexual individuals of their preferred gender is far lower than the rate of heterosexual individuals, giving them a slight handicap in finding a SO. But I would not consider homosexuality a disorder. Now, a distinction can likely be drawn between homosexuality where it is purely discrimination causing the problems vs. autism where it is a problem even in an accepting environment, but something like Asperger's seems to be in a middle gray area that I've yet to see a way to place. While I would never choose for anyone to have Asperger's, they are able to live functional lives, though these lives do tend to have difficulties and pains that are not a part of the life of someone without Asperger's.

alexggordon 11y ago
I think given the discrimination of gay people in the world, it's very hard to make claims like "the rate of homo/bisexual individuals of their preferred gender is far lower than the rate of heterosexual individuals, giving them a slight handicap in finding a SO". If discrimination of gay people is so rampant, how can we really know what the preferred bias really is? The other major issue I have is with enough science, parents have a choice in stopping autism, however sexual orientation is not genetic, and therefore should never be the choice of a parent to attempt to "choose" their child's orientation.
- Lawtonfogle 11y ago
  >If discrimination of gay people is so rampant, how can we really know what the preferred bias really is? You can look at changes in the rates of people who report to be homosexuals between different societies who discriminate at different levels. You can also studie non-human species (especially other great apes) and notice what their numbers are like between species. It does get messier when you start to count bi-sexuals, and especially when you consider a scale instead of a trinary classification, but it is pretty extreme to think that homosexuals make up the same portion of the population as heterosexuals. >however sexual orientation is not genetic, and therefore should never be the choice of a parent to attempt to "choose" their child's orientation. We still don't fully know what it is, but likely whatever it may be, one day we will have the ability to control it (I'm not talking about the current pseudo science of gay to straight conversion, but that one day we will have a much better understanding of the entire brain and will have the technology to modify it in ways that would be alien or magical right now).
abandonliberty 11y ago
s/homosexual/black s/homosexual/female It worries me how well these fit.