Kimberly Tomczyk
Professor Floerke
English 100
7 October 2012
The Thoughts of Christopher Boone Many believe that those with autism do not have the capacity of developing moral agency without empathy. Kids at a young age are taught the lessons of good and bad of what other people see as good that impacts on them as they grow up. The same concept goes with Christopher in the novel of, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, that endorse the fact that he has autism is able to learn right and wrong without feelings. He is viewed as naïve, but gives that sense of innocence of nature through the way he portrays his thoughts to action. To fully understand Christopher on whether he has moral agency is better …show more content…

Kennett identifies autistic individuals "do in some cases seem capable of compensating for this deficit and becoming conscientious, though often clumsy, moral agents" (Kennett 345). The situation that Christopher finds ways to his father's promise puts him more into a state that he does not think much of the consequences for his actions, but first intends to think through what he may be done without any further thought. Christopher made a Get Well card for his mother in the hospital that relates to what he knows should be done. He gives a reason why he does this was "because that is what you do for people when they are in the hospital" (Haddon 23). Here the readers may see that it was something that he had to do. Kennett claims that "In the case of many austistic people rules of conduct are not self-developed", but we have to remember that it was an act "of a more explicit practical concern to do the right thing" (Kennett 352). These are based on the Kantian motive of duty that "moral feeling has little or nothing to do with emotional connectedness to others", but without any moral feelings that completely lack capacity would be considered "morally dead" (qtd. in Kennett 353). The essence of Kennett's argument is that reasons are good enough for Christopher where he at least knows what it is that he is doing was good. Christopher is capable of showing moral agency. He understands the logic to one dying from the cold and can perform the task of caring for one by