Was Michelangelo Autistic?

[littlemissattitude]

I found a short article on MSN that claims Michelangelo had Asperger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.

Classic tortured genius: The great artist Michelangelo may have suffered from autism, new research shows.
The report, which appears in the Journal of Medical Biography, provides a synthesis of new evidence about the famous 16th century artist, renowned for painting the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

"He was a loner, self-absorbed, and gave his undivided attention to his masterpieces -- a feature of autism," writes lead researcher Muhammad Arshad, PhD, a psychiatrist at Five Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust in Great Britain.

"Michelangelo met the criteria for Asperger's disorder, or high-functioning autism," Arshad adds.

Find the rest of the article at http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/87/99594.htm?GT1=3391

It is an interesting argument, but I'm not sure I buy it. It's like he's being labeled that way because he had an artistic vision and didn't much like compromise (even though he ended up doing a lot of compromising, becuase that's what you did when the pope spoke). Is this a valid argument, or just another attempt to marginalize the creative mind?

 

[Foxbat]

Perhaps it's not so much an attempt to marginalise the creative mind as a way of trying to make the rest of us (less creative) feel better. 'Oh, you're not like Michelangelo because....' If you get my drift (not sure I get it myself).

I've only ever seen one piece of his work (can't remember the title - it was in The Hermitage in St Petersburg which has over 2 million works of art) but it was awesome. Perhaps we should just be grateful and accept the legacy he left the world and stop fretting so much about how he achieved it? Autistic or not he was, quite simply, a wonderful artist and doesn't deserve to be pigeonholed.

 

[Esioul]

I agree with you, Foxbat. People are always fussing about Asperger's these days. Most people probably have it anyway.

 

[polymorphikos]

It's pretty ridiculous. They diagnosed me with it, and then I read the symptoms and it was basically any person who is unsociable and generally reclusive, and that's not taking into account the series of events that might lead someone to be like that. I can quite clearly trace the evnts that lead to my being unsociable and reclusive, so it's more of a personal conditioning process in my case. These days every personality is a syndrome.

 

[littlemissattitude]

It's pretty ridiculous. They diagnosed me with it, and then I read the symptoms and it was basically any person who is unsociable and generally reclusive, and that's not taking into account the series of events that might lead someone to be like that. I can quite clearly trace the evnts that lead to my being unsociable and reclusive, so it's more of a personal conditioning process in my case. These days every personality is a syndrome.

See, that's the thing. A friend of mine has a child who was diagnosed with Asperger's; the doctor went on to tell my friend that both her and her husband also have it. She linked me to some resources about Asperger's, and when I read the list of symptoms the first thing I thought was, "Well, I guess I've got it, too." As do most of the people I know and get along well with. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it just seems like an awfully broad set of symptoms. I guess I just object to the trend these days to assign some sort of pathology to everyone who doesn't fit a very narrow definition of ambition, sociability, and habits.

I think that Foxbat has a point in saying that it's kind of beside the point now what "conditions" or "syndromes" Michelangelo might have had. He was a great artist and the world would have been poorer without the things he created. So what if he didn't have a boatload of friends and was singleminded about his art?

 

[dwndrgn]

Exactly. I don't care if he picked his nose religiously, liked playing jacks by himself or whatever. Can't we just enjoy his legacy without having to analyze the poor man's life?

As far as Augsberger's Syndrome...sounds like a load of pig droppings to me.

 

[littlemissattitude]

As far as Augsberger's Syndrome...sounds like a load of pig droppings to me.

As usual, dwndrgn, you cut right to the crux of the matter. What would the psychologists do if they didn't have a new syndrome to play with every few years?

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

I totally agree with you all on this. When I studied psychology, I found that I fulfilled all the criteria for something called 'Borderline Personality Syndrome', among other things (I was also strongly Bipolar or whatever they call it these days) and just like Lacedaemonian, I was able to trace why I felt that way at that point of time. I concluded rightly that I would get over it without mental help.
A lot of the points Arshad cites can be explained in different ways, relating to social norms and conditions and yes, sometimes very creative people do tend to be a bit alone and cranky. Sometimes you need to hold yourself apart to have the time and space to create!

This whole article strikes me as a great example of the witch-doctory that too often passes for psychology, as well as, as Foxbat pointed out, maybe another attempt to make those of us who are less gifted feel better by thinking 'we aren't crazy, so that's why...'

 

[Esioul]

I've been told I'm dyspraxic, so it's possible I've got 'Aspergers'. But if I have, then all my friends have, too- so many people seem to fulfill the categories. I know I have weird obsessions, etc etc. But I think it's crap when they say people with 'Asperger's' etc have loads of social problems and so on- just because they don't go out very often or have lots and lots of friends doesn't mean they can't emphathise etc etc.

The whole issue of Michelangelo is just because the psycologists are bored.

 

[dwndrgn]

This whole article strikes me as a great example of the witch-doctory that too often passes for psychology...'

Hee hee knivesout, you are starting to sound like a Scientologist!