Abstract

FONSECA, Vera Regina J. R. M.. From Homo ergaster to Homo autisticus: considerations about phylogenesis and ontogenesis of the development of the mind and its disorders. J. psicanal. [online]. 2012, vol.45, n.83, pp. 191-202. ISSN 0103-5835.

Developmental psychologists consider early sharing of emotions as a trait unique to human beings. According to Sarah Hrdy, in Mothers and Others, such characteristic would have evolved from the practice of shared infant care, which can be traced back to Homo ergaster, around 1.8 million years ago. This practice has changed dramatically in the last decades in Westernized societies. Parental care is no longer shared, but rather intermediated by nonhuman means, such as video, television and computers. The author hypothesizes that such practices may be linked to the great increase in prevalence rates of autistic disorders.

Keywords : autistic disorders; human development; evolutionist psychology; psychoanalysis.

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