A brilliant article actually. I myself only recently learned psychopaths are completely devoid of empathy and remorse which is indeed scary. So in some ways those people are indeed inhuman monsters or heartless machines, but they look totally like everyone else and learn to imitate normal human behavior (in a way like AI does lol, remembering other our discussion). Hence it's also pretty hard to spot those people on early, do you have any advice here - how to spot psychopaths before they harmed you?
Another issue here is indeed that we used to treat others exactly like ourselves. So even when we think of villains, we usually imagine a deeply traumatized person who turned to evil out of immense suffer and whom mere kindness could sometimes help. But in case of psychopaths, this approach is just disastrous - they will only use our kindness against us to manipulate and abuse us.
But it's hard for ordinary people to even imagine that someone might be evil by default, from birth, without any trauma or bad circumstances making him such. It's hard even for me to imagine despite I'm no ordinary person and don't lack imagination. But still.
Thanks! And yes, you’re right, too many people think they can “save” a psychopath, without realizing their true nature.
For what it’s worth, psychopathy is both hereditary and due to upbringing, it can be a mix. You often need the right predisposition and then a traumatic upbringing as a catalyst (though not always). For instance royalty (often hereditary psychopaths) will subject their children to abandonment and abuse from birth, and I have a strong suspicion they’re doing this to trigger the psychopathic potential in them, and not just because they’re crappy parents. But I digress.
The key point is that once someone is a psychopath there’s no “fixing” them. Their brain is fundamentally damaged and cannot be repaired. It’s not like a broken bone or a pulled muscle.
As far as identifying them, I plan to do more research on this and publish another article in the future. I don’t yet have any formal process, but I myself often become suspicious that someone might be a psychopath in my gut. It’s a feeling of unease - like the person I’m talking to isn’t all the way there. Their reactions to things don’t quite seem genuine, their interest is feigned, their smile a bit too practiced. It’s hard to quite put your finger on it.
None of that necessarily means they’re a psychopath, they could also just be socially awkward. To really tell I think you have to spend some time around a person, see how they react to things. Eventually you start to notice some patterns. I’ll write more about that in the future.
Oh, so it's a mix of hereditary factors and upbringing, it makes it even more complex and easier to confuse with traumatized villains who aren't psychopaths.
And with identifying them it's even more confusing. All you said makes sense but all the same traits might indeed be exhibited by socially awkward people, autists, and even dreamers and scientists who are often 'not always there' but in their dreams and visions.
I think a test for empathy is more sure way to detect them. Yeah I know they can feign empathy and switch it on when needed but they can sometimes forget the switch. For example they might be careful to show a feigned empathy for people but forget to do it with animals and show their cruelty or indifference to a cat or a bird. So attitude to animals is an important indication for me in people. I don't trust people who are cruel or even indifferent to animals.
Another good example is an empathy to unpopular minorities like gays. Psychopaths might forget to switch their empathy on here too thinking that if many people don't like gays they could get away with it. So an attitude to gays is also an important indication.
There's also formal tests for identifying psychopaths in a clinical setting, though you're unlikely to find a psychopath willing to take it if they're trying to stay hidden!
The interesting thing is I think it's already possible, with the current level of tech, to build a psychopath detector. A device that measures various physiological and neurological signs and determines whether someone is a psychopath. Of course the danger with something like the is false positives.
A good point. I have a bit of a quibble though, with everyone is calling those people "psychopaths". Actual psychopaths and sociopaths (in medical terms) are usually... well, not successful, it's a pretty noticeable mental disorder with bad side effects. My pet theory is that humans as a species have several different sets of social behavioral instincts that can be either inborn or triggered to become the dominating behavior at some point, and, well, what you'd call a "psychopath" I'd call simply a mentally healthy adult baboon with a human intellect. Which also makes it less scary and mysterious (not less harmful to the society though).
A brilliant article actually. I myself only recently learned psychopaths are completely devoid of empathy and remorse which is indeed scary. So in some ways those people are indeed inhuman monsters or heartless machines, but they look totally like everyone else and learn to imitate normal human behavior (in a way like AI does lol, remembering other our discussion). Hence it's also pretty hard to spot those people on early, do you have any advice here - how to spot psychopaths before they harmed you?
Another issue here is indeed that we used to treat others exactly like ourselves. So even when we think of villains, we usually imagine a deeply traumatized person who turned to evil out of immense suffer and whom mere kindness could sometimes help. But in case of psychopaths, this approach is just disastrous - they will only use our kindness against us to manipulate and abuse us.
But it's hard for ordinary people to even imagine that someone might be evil by default, from birth, without any trauma or bad circumstances making him such. It's hard even for me to imagine despite I'm no ordinary person and don't lack imagination. But still.
Thanks! And yes, you’re right, too many people think they can “save” a psychopath, without realizing their true nature.
For what it’s worth, psychopathy is both hereditary and due to upbringing, it can be a mix. You often need the right predisposition and then a traumatic upbringing as a catalyst (though not always). For instance royalty (often hereditary psychopaths) will subject their children to abandonment and abuse from birth, and I have a strong suspicion they’re doing this to trigger the psychopathic potential in them, and not just because they’re crappy parents. But I digress.
The key point is that once someone is a psychopath there’s no “fixing” them. Their brain is fundamentally damaged and cannot be repaired. It’s not like a broken bone or a pulled muscle.
As far as identifying them, I plan to do more research on this and publish another article in the future. I don’t yet have any formal process, but I myself often become suspicious that someone might be a psychopath in my gut. It’s a feeling of unease - like the person I’m talking to isn’t all the way there. Their reactions to things don’t quite seem genuine, their interest is feigned, their smile a bit too practiced. It’s hard to quite put your finger on it.
None of that necessarily means they’re a psychopath, they could also just be socially awkward. To really tell I think you have to spend some time around a person, see how they react to things. Eventually you start to notice some patterns. I’ll write more about that in the future.
Oh, so it's a mix of hereditary factors and upbringing, it makes it even more complex and easier to confuse with traumatized villains who aren't psychopaths.
And with identifying them it's even more confusing. All you said makes sense but all the same traits might indeed be exhibited by socially awkward people, autists, and even dreamers and scientists who are often 'not always there' but in their dreams and visions.
I think a test for empathy is more sure way to detect them. Yeah I know they can feign empathy and switch it on when needed but they can sometimes forget the switch. For example they might be careful to show a feigned empathy for people but forget to do it with animals and show their cruelty or indifference to a cat or a bird. So attitude to animals is an important indication for me in people. I don't trust people who are cruel or even indifferent to animals.
Another good example is an empathy to unpopular minorities like gays. Psychopaths might forget to switch their empathy on here too thinking that if many people don't like gays they could get away with it. So an attitude to gays is also an important indication.
There's also formal tests for identifying psychopaths in a clinical setting, though you're unlikely to find a psychopath willing to take it if they're trying to stay hidden!
The interesting thing is I think it's already possible, with the current level of tech, to build a psychopath detector. A device that measures various physiological and neurological signs and determines whether someone is a psychopath. Of course the danger with something like the is false positives.
Yeah I think to malign an innocent like a psychopath is a Real Danger too.
That's why I'd stick to my animal or gay tests.
Empathy to a perceived enemy is another good one - psychos could forget to switch that on too.
A good point. I have a bit of a quibble though, with everyone is calling those people "psychopaths". Actual psychopaths and sociopaths (in medical terms) are usually... well, not successful, it's a pretty noticeable mental disorder with bad side effects. My pet theory is that humans as a species have several different sets of social behavioral instincts that can be either inborn or triggered to become the dominating behavior at some point, and, well, what you'd call a "psychopath" I'd call simply a mentally healthy adult baboon with a human intellect. Which also makes it less scary and mysterious (not less harmful to the society though).