History Lessons
January 21, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
I’m preparing to teach a class in Roman History, which meets for the first time tomorrow, Tuesday. We’ll start ab urbe condita—from the time of Rome’s legendary founding in 753 BC—-and end sometime in Late Antiquity, with the unraveling of Romanum Imperium. One of the first things I plan to ask the class is what they know, or think they know, about the Romans and I’m semi-sure someone will mention the hypothesis about lead poisoning causing the decline of Rome—–just as, when anyone in the future teaches about the history of autism, there will be mention of the autism/MMR hypothesis (here’s some history on that by Kevin Leitch).
To quote philosopher Santayana’s oft-paraphrased statement: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It’s not that we need to make autism a “word for history books“—-we need first of all to write the real history of autism, both in the recent past as Leitch does, and even further back.
I have never found the evidence in support of vaccines/thimerosal causing autism all that compelling. But I think you are stretching things to compare this debate to debates over what caused the demise of Rome. Very weak comparison.
I hope tomorrow you will not use that comparison to conclude that all potential environmental causes/triggers for autism should be ruled out.
The connections seem clear to me…
So Rome had lead lined aqueducts and we have lead pipes. They all go stupid and there civilization falls… because of lead poisoning in a society where brute strength mattered more than the mind, which is why Rome adopted ideas didn’t come up with them. Us on the other hand have a society where brain damage means more and supposedly our lead pipes don’t destroy us… It’s such a weird theory that way.
@Harold L. Doherty,
“But I think you are stretching things to compare this debate to debates over what caused the demise of Rome.”
It’s not really a “debate” about lead pipes causing the decline of Rome, not among historians. Nor can we say that Roman civilization “declined”—this is an unfair value judgment comparing the literature of such writers as Statius to Virgil (who is quite original and exquisite). Good stuff all the way to the end.
Good point. If all a civilization is worth is what kind of economic base they develop from other subjected cultures we have the entire value system upside down. The point is how sophisticated and refined of a culture you can get and you can keep that going even if the Gauls no longer pay tribute…
And if the Gauls are in the Emperor’s seat….