This paper makes an important contribution to the ongoing debate over the validity of the psychological construct, ADHD. While not ruling out the possibility that something of value may lie at the core of this diagnosis, the authors articulate a clear set of problems with the research logic that forms the foundation of the disorder itself, reaching the conclusion that there appears to be insuffi cient, valid scientifi c evidence for the demarcation of a coherent and independent disease entity.

How we ought to diagnose, categorise and respond to spectrum disabilities such as autism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a topic of lively debate. The heterogeneity associated with ADHD and autism is described as falling on various continua of behavioural, neural, and genetic difference. These continua are varyingly described either as extending into the general population, or as being continua within a given disorder demarcation. Moreover, the interrelationships of these continua are likewise often vague and subject to (...) diverse interpretations. -/- In this paper, I explore geneticists' and self-advocates’ perspectives concerning autism and ADHD as continua. These diagnoses are overwhelmingly analysed as falling on a continuum or continua of underlying traits, which supports the notion of “the neurodiversity spectrum”, i.e., a broader swath of human neural and behavioural diversity on which some concentrations of different functioning are diagnosed. I offer a taxonomy of conceptions of the genetic, phenotypic, and endophenotypic dimensionality within and beyond these diagnostic categories, and suggest that the spectrum of neurodiversity is characteristically endophenotypic. (shrink)

While research on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has traditionally focused on cognitive and behavioral deficits, there is increasing interest in exploring possible resources associated with the disorder. In this paper, we argue that the attention-patterns associated with ADHD can be understood as expressing an alternative style of inquiry, or “zetetic” style, characterized mainly by a lower barrier for becoming curious and engaging in inquiry, and a weaker disposition to regulate curiosity in response to the cognitive and practical (...) costs associated with inquiry. Exploring this zetetic style from an epistemological perspective, we show that it is often epistemically rational and can be advantageous in important respects. We close by suggesting that the very aspects of the zetetic style that might at times render it disadvantageous from the point of view of individual subjects with ADHD, will often confer epistemic benefits to the social group that the subjects are part of. (shrink)

Russell Barkely describes ADHD as a disorder of one’s ability to self-regulate, i.e., to engage in internal self-directed actions. This raises a problem when considering the phenomenon of masking, in which a neurodivergent individual puts up a front to fit in situations with neurotypical norms. If masking is a form of self-regulation, and if ADHD is a disorder of self-regulation, then how can people with ADHD mask at all? I will argue that this problem prompts us to (...) understand ADHD as a disorder of a specific type of self-regulation, quasi-transcendent self-regulation, and that the German anarchist Max Stirner provides us with a new concept of immanent self-regulation that can account for ADHD masking. First, I perform a phenomenological analysis of my own experiences masking my ADHD in order to uncover the internal logic of immanent masking. I identify that this logic originates from an internalization of consistent social exclusion due to the social disruptiveness of one’s ADHD symptoms. Such an internalization constitutes one’s self as devalued in relation to the other, which allows this other to transcend them. Then, I argue that the progression of a logic of domination in Stirner’s psychological and historical accounts of two major ideological shifts—first, from Catholicism to Protestantism, and, second, from Socialism to Humanism—provides us with theoretical accounts of quasi-transcendent and immanent masking respectively. I conclude by proposing a possible solution to immanent masking. Using Stirner’s ethical notion of the insurrection, I propose my own notion of the micro-insurrection, and discuss the implementation of it in my life through the employment of subversive humor. I describe how this humor can destabilize the social expectations of a given context by strategically adopting the positions rendered absurd and impossible by the dominant ideology in order to locally undermine it. Micro-insurrections thus render the power relations of a space ambiguous so as to allow for free movement and free expression. (shrink)

Dear Editor, we would like to raise some points regarding ADHD philosophical knowledge considering initially the article by Thurber et al.

The field of special pedagogy has received increased global attention in recent years. This resulted in the development of a variety of schooling (or non-schooling) and of teaching methods that are tailored to the needs of non-neurotypical individuals. Regardless of whether or not they wish to be “healed”, their needs require special consideration. This study aims to determine if incorporating anime into teaching methods would benefit individuals with ADHD. In this article, we will consider the desires of people with (...) ADHD, the functioning of their brains, the effect of prescribed medications, as well as the impact of video and the need for it in relation to contemporary educational models and methods. In support of this, three short surveys conducted at the onset of the pandemic will be presented, along with anime recommendations for each education field. Do teachers and professors have the freedom to teach as they wish, the right to use what methods they want. or the responsibility to find and choose the best educational methods for their students? Do the neurodiverse individuals have the freedom to discontinue their education or the right to receive a proper education? Which prevails? (shrink)

The demand for effective interventions to improve domain-specific academic outcomes for individuals with special needs at either end of the spectrum has existed for some time. Since the earlier contributions to the literature documenting gifted individuals who were simultaneously exhibiting disabilities, there has been some progress in our understanding. We now know that in individuals with both gifts and disabilities, potentially, either or both of the exceptionalities can obscure the effects of the other, which significantly delays the average time to (...) receive a diagnosis. Such delays in diagnosis detrimentally impact the quality of life across various domains because there can be no opportunity to receive help in the form of effective interventions without a diagnosis. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether effective interventions exist to improve domain-specific (i.e., social, emotional, or academic) outcomes for people with both gifts and disabilities. A query was performed using evidence databases TRIP and PDQ for “twice-exceptional,” “Giftedness,” “Disability,” and “intervention.” The four most relevant, freely available studies in English were selected for critique. Despite identifying potential threats to validity among the studies, methodological similarities among them were strong enough to confidently conclude that not only do effective interventions exist for the population of gifted with ADHD, but the outcomes of these interventions may also carry over into other domains resulting in indirect effects. (shrink)

To date, diagnosing Attention Defi cit Hyperactivity Disorder remains indeed one of the most controversial issues in contemporary psychiatry and behavioural sciences. Most of the conceptual problems regarding the validity of this diagnostic category arise from the heterogeneity of syndromal pictures and the high rate of comorbidity observed in subjects diagnosed with ADHD at all stages of the longitudinal course of the disorder. In this regard, DSM 5 increased complexity by allowing a diagnosis of comorbidity between ADHD and (...) autism spectrum disorders while these two diagnoses were mutually exclusive in DSM-IV-TR. (shrink)

Stimulants have been shown to be safe and effective for reduction of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Despite much debate, however, there has been little empirical evidence as to whether stimulants affect authenticity and moral agency in children. Singh presents evidence that stimulants do not undercut children's' sense of self and increase their experience of agency. These findings are consistent with laboratory evidence that stimulant drugs in therapeutic doses improve cognitive control over thought and behavior.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) continues to be controversial with arguments for and against its veracity being waged by individuals representing a variety of disciplines from behavioral scientists to philosophers. Our perspective focuses on the epistemological underpinnings of what is now commonly known as ADHD. Its ignominious history and current disputes may stem from a "pessimistic" epistemology, meaning that truth is only the province of persons in authority and power. The authoritative organizations that govern the diagnostic labels and (...) criteria are the American Psychiatric Association and their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and the World Health Organization that sponsors the International Classification of Disease. We contrast the pessimistic epistemology with criteria for truth from the scientific method. Although scientific scrutiny has been and is being applied subsequent to "authoritarian edicts" of the disorder, we opine that ADHD currently does not have status beyond that of the "hypothetical construct." Moreover, current brain-based causal models have failed to provide rigorous supporting data that comes from testing falsifiable hypotheses. (shrink)

This chapter sets the scene for the subsequent philosophical discussions by surveying a number of biological interventions that have been used, or might in the future be used, for the purposes of crime prevention. These interventions are pharmaceutical interventions intended to suppress libido, treat substance abuse or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or modulate serotonin activity; nutritional interventions; and electrical and magnetic brain stimulation. Where applicable, we briefly comment on the historical use of these interventions, and in each case we (...) discuss the evidence that they are effective, or might become so with further refinement. The chapter concludes with a comment on some potentially significant differences between the varieties of intervention that we canvass. (shrink)

This article offers an introductory analysis of the philosophical and empirical considerations having to do with the significance of psychopathy, intellectual disability and ADHD regarding one’s moral responsibility. Moral responsibility comes in degrees and is ultimately determined on social grounds. Whether a certain diagnosis and its under­pinning neuro-cognitive impairment affects one’s cognitive, emotional and moral conduct, depends also on social and relational factors.

A variety of mental disorders—including ASD, ADHD, major depression, and anxiety disorder, among others—may directly impact what an agent notices or fails to notice. A recent debate has emphasised the potential significance of such “impairment-derived ignorance,” and argued that failure to account for certain compelling cases would seriously undermine theories which intend to establish the conditions for blameworthy ignorance. In this comment we argue, contra a recent challenge, that Quality of Will (QW) accounts are able to explain the normative (...) significance of impairment-derived ignorance. The plausible, ambivalent results QW accounts yield in difficult cases of impairment-derived ignorance further reveals the explanatory power of such accounts when it comes to blameworthy ignorance. (shrink)

The mind and brain sciences influence how human beings understand one another. Histories of the concepts of repression, implicit bias, ADHD, IQ, and personhood reveal that scientific psychology has played a role, not just in shaping people's thinking about minds, but also (and thereby) in shaping minds themselves. These case studies may thus be seen as supporting the contentious thesis that science aids in the social construction of minds. Three considerations are relevant to determining how seriously we should take (...) that contention: (1) to what extent was it inevitable that socially sophisticated animals would come to describe minds in the ways that 21st century humans do?; (2) to what extent do human sociocognitive practices accurately describe the inherent structure of the mind?; (3) to what extent can historical stability in descriptions of minds be chalked up to the fact that people are accurately describing the structure of the mind? (shrink)

Several theories propose that one of the core functions of inner speech (IS) is to support subjects in the completion of cognitively effortful tasks, especially those involving executive functions (EF). In this paper we focus on two populations who notoriously encounter difficulties in performing EF tasks, namely, people diagnosed with schizophrenia who experience auditory verbal hallucinations (Sz-AVH) and people within the Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). We focus on these two populations because they represent two different ways in which IS can (...) fail to help in EF tasks, which can be illustrative for other mental conditions. First, we review the main components of EF (Section 1). Then we explain the functions that IS is taken to perform in the domain of EF (Section 2) and review the evidence concerning problems about EF in the two populations of our study: Sz-AVH (Section 3) and ASC (Section 4). After this we further detail our account about what a properly functioning IS can do for both populations and how different IS profiles may impact EF performance: in the case of Sz-AVH, the uncontrolled and intrusive character of IS negatively affects EF performance, whereas in ASC, EF is not sufficiently supported by IS, given the tendency in this population to present a diminished use of IS (Section 5). We finally briefly discuss Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Developmental Language Disorders (DLD). (shrink)

According to a standard picture of agency, a person’s actions always reflect what they most desire, and many theorists extend this model to mental illness. In this chapter, I pin down exactly where this “volitional” view goes wrong. The key is to recognize that human motivational architecture involves a regulatory control structure: we have both spontaneous states (e.g., automatically-elicited thoughts and action tendencies, etc.) as well as regulatory mechanisms that allow us to suppress or modulate these spontaneous states. Our regulatory (...) abilities, however, are bounded. Mental illnesses, I argue, arise precisely where these bounds are reached, thus allowing inappropriate spontaneous states to regularly manifest in thought and action. I conclude that the volitional view of mental illness is wrong: when a person with mental illness reaches the limits of control, what they do often does not reflect what they most prefer. (shrink)

Cecilea discusses with Shelley Tremain her experience as a first-generation U.S. citizen and first-generation university graduate; why she was motivated to study philosophy and become a professional philosopher; the launching of the new, open access, online journal, the Journal of Philosophy of Emotions (JPE); the “mismatch” between what she seemed like “on paper” and what she is is capable of; how societal, institutional, professional, and philosophical practices and policies must be adjusted to enable others like her to flourish as professional (...) philosophers; and any resources—such as articles, books, and videos—that she would like to recommend on the topics and issues that she has addressed in this interview. (shrink)

Learning to see the continuity between our everyday decision-making and our decision-making around new biotechnologies is key to acclimatizing to our enhanced future. By excavating this decision-making, Singh helps us see that Ritalin isn’t really that big a deal and helps dispel what Malcolm Gladwell (1999) noted as the “strange inversion of moral responsibility” encouraged by books like ‘Ritalin Nation’ and ‘Running on Ritalin,’ whose authors “seek to make those parents and physicians trying to help children with A.D.H.D. feel guilty (...) for doing so.”. (shrink)

We are all born in some religion, cult, or school of thought. Some are born Christian, some Muslim, and some Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, etc. -/- All that these people have in common as they grow up is their bias towards their own religion and how they view and criticize the opposing religions. They all seem to believe that their religion and God or the Gods are the true ones. -/- If Jews think that they are correct, and Muslims and Christians (...) think the same as the Jews, and the Buddhists, Hindus, and others feel the same way, then we need to ask one, which group is correct? And two, why do they all think the same but over different Gods and teachings? (shrink)

The development of a book is an enjoyable task. Whatever the contents of this book might be, I assure you that I would try my best to put things in such a simple language in an easy-to-understand manner. Moreover, I also promise to be as blunt and frank as I could be. -/- I have been thinking of writing this book for quite some time; however, I have decided if I am going to write one book, then I might as (...) well write more books since I am going over the basics of some of my thoughts and theories in this very first book.6 However, my thoughts and theories are the least important since everybody could be wrong, and my thoughts could have been the same as others. -/- Yet, as mentioned earlier, these are only the base of my thoughts, observations, and theories and do not include all the subjects I would love to share. I have written in this very first book a brief introduction to some of my thoughts. -/- Furthermore, they are nothing special since we all think we have something special to say. I might perhaps be under the same impression as everybody else. -/- Also, I have to admit that I am an average person like any other person who could make mistakes. Therefore, I see myself entitled to change of opinion if better logic is provided sufficiently. -/- I have to try writing this book since it is already long overdue, and it is time to share my opinions and7 understandings of the world as simple and as naive that they can be! -/- Moreover, this book will be as I usually say that ''in school, first, you learn a lesson then you have a test, but in life, first, you have a test then you learn a lesson''. -/- So I promise to listen to your criticism and pieces of advice to make myself better and develop into a better and wiser individual. I hope this book helps us both. -/- This book is not about me being right or wrong since I will always look forward to criticism since critics are the ones that help us be better at what we are or what we are trying to accomplish. (shrink)