What about theory of mind? The absence of this is a characteristic of autism, and wouldn't empathy be connected to theory of mind?
Not everyone agrees. Some people with autism pass TOM tests with no trouble.
Simon Baron Cohen's work (asserting that autism is explained by lack of empathy and lack of TOM) has had a lot of press, so it's widely known, but not everyone in the scientific community agrees with it.
For example:
http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/16/6/311.abstractMany Autistic people feel that not only is SB-C wrong, but his ideas are defamatory and dehumanizing...
Would you share the main points in Theory of Mind (TOM) which are found to be defamatory/dehumanizing?
For a bit of balanced perspective, the 2007 abstract which you linked states, in part "
Current research supports the view that autism involves delays and deficits not only in the development of a theory of mind but also in additional aspects of social-affective information processing that extend beyond the traditional boundaries of theory of mind." This does not seem to strongly counter the work of SB-C, but rather continues research of his work from nearly 30 years ago.
Regarding a question posed in the abstract, "
How can we explain why some children with autism pass theory-of-mind tasks?", it is my understanding that some individuals may successfully answer social questions in an academic sense, but are unable to apply the information in context, at the opportune moment.
Simon Baron-Cohen's Theory of Mind hypothesis dates to 1987, and
he is currently associated with Cambridge University and the Autism Research Centre (ARC) in the UK, and is an author/co-author of
several books. Although his work may be controversial, he has demonstrated considerable perseverance, dedication, and productivity.
