Talk:James Cantor
- Through such research, Cantor hopes to identify early causes of pedophilia and come up with ways to prevent its development. "I feel like one of the most rooted-for scientists in the world," he says. "Everyone wants me to be successful in these projects."
A semi-private listserv:
- > Or do you believe that sexual interest in children is a mental disorder even if it is not acted on, obsessive or productive of personal distress?
- Well, I can't give you any answer that has not already been widely discussed throughout the DSM literature: What does and does not count as a mental disorder depends on your definition of "mental disorder". There are definitions (and proposed definitions) that pedophilia fits, and I have read other proposed definitions that pedophilia would not fit.
- To the extent that any diagnosis is a societal statement about a behavior, the definition of mental disorder is not scientific. To the extent that it is not scientific, I have no opinion. As Richard Feynman said, "I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy."
Jillium 18:33, 8 June 2009 (UTC)