We are no longer in an environment similar to the one we evolved in, yet our intellectual and emotional systems are basically the same as they were 100,000 years ago. The ridiculous use of the naturalistic fallacy by the author is little more than a red herring and a bit of a straw man when you consider the purpose behind the categorization of emotional/behavioural states.

The categorization isn’t intended to tell us there is something wrong with us, it’s intended to provide guidelines for treatment of emotional states that have given segments of the population difficulties in social interactions. Yes, categories can be used to marginalize groups of people, but it can also enable the use of effective strategies quickly and reliably.

If a person has a range of personality traits that fit into one of the categories, and the categories are usually a range of behaviours that overlap with other categories, there exist a number of validated procedures associated with the category that can make that person’s life more enjoyable.

Both ADHD and autism are real, they aren’t an invention nor the manifestation of big phama’s greed. There are however, a number of non-drug cognitive retraining methods that help high functioning autistic and Aspergers kids deal with the stresses of interacting with people not affected by the syndrome. Drugs should only be used as a scaffold for the assembly of effective coping mechanisms.

Society is as it is, it doesn’t like differences in its members and while changes in attitude occur they are very slow. If ADHD and autistic kids are having trouble dealing with stress, then it is much quicker and effective to deal with the autism/ADHD in a specific individual than to wait until society changes how it interacts with them. Suggesting that we abandon these kids to their own resources just about guarantees we end up with a subsection of society unable to function at their best.

The same can be said for other emotional disorders like clinical depression.

Going back to the good old days is going back to the victimization, abuse and ostracization of a small but significant number of people. Remember that we evolved from species that killed oddball offspring.