[Bill,
December 8, 2007]
Interesting stuff on psychopaths
Just how much trouble can one percent of the population cause? In a recent book, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work, psychologist Dr. Robert D. Hare implies that about half the serious crime, and half the trouble in the world, is caused by an amoral, conscienceless group of people he calls psychopaths. Psychopaths are people without conscience and a moral sense — he distinguishes them from sociopaths, who says have a moral sense, but it's twisted. (Osama Bin Laden, thus, is probably a socipath; Hugo Chavez is most likely a psychopath.)
Now, a writer, Barbara Oakley, writes anecdotally about something similar in her book, Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend.
In the Chicago Tribune, she describes the phenomenon ... and reminds me a little of M. Scott Peck's People of the Lie, another book on the why some people are ... well, evil.
Anyway, here's some interesting items from Oakley's Tribune essay:
Read the whole thing.
I know that I have this blind spot — too often I think (and even insist) you can deal with people rationally, and often can get very frustrated when people refuse to see reason — especially knowable, obvious, provable reason.
I also wonder sometimes about Dante's curious choice to put people living at his time in his hell. That is, Dante said that living people's souls could already have died and gone to hell ... what's left -- a machine, an incarnate demon? Anyway, Dante is not official Catholic teaching, and I wouldn't want to argue that there are people among who have souls that have already left their bodies and suffer eternally, and what's left is either a meat machine or someone fully possessed by a demon. But it is a curious thought.
Now, a writer, Barbara Oakley, writes anecdotally about something similar in her book, Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend.
In the Chicago Tribune, she describes the phenomenon ... and reminds me a little of M. Scott Peck's People of the Lie, another book on the why some people are ... well, evil.
Anyway, here's some interesting items from Oakley's Tribune essay:
No, it appears the real problem is not a religion like Islam, or an ideology like communism. It is, instead, the successfully sinister who roam among us, driven by their amorality to do whatever it takes to gain and maintain control. Social structures, ideologies and religions with little by way of transparency, checks and balances can provide a fast track to the top for such individuals. Even Democratic processes can be subverted if a successfully sinister individual rises to the top and gains the freedom to rewrite the rules. Witness Hitler's election to the presidency that presaged his role as dictator, and Hugo Chavez's similar attempts to reshape his role as the president of Venezuela.
Most of us are imperfect followers of a religion or ideology, and most of us have blind spots. But science is telling us that there are an amoral few among us who are far more imperfect than others. The sizzle of bacon provides the key: We can sometimes be blind to the real nature of human nature.
Read the whole thing.
I know that I have this blind spot — too often I think (and even insist) you can deal with people rationally, and often can get very frustrated when people refuse to see reason — especially knowable, obvious, provable reason.
I also wonder sometimes about Dante's curious choice to put people living at his time in his hell. That is, Dante said that living people's souls could already have died and gone to hell ... what's left -- a machine, an incarnate demon? Anyway, Dante is not official Catholic teaching, and I wouldn't want to argue that there are people among who have souls that have already left their bodies and suffer eternally, and what's left is either a meat machine or someone fully possessed by a demon. But it is a curious thought.
I read the other article and book reviews. I do believe there are evil people and I have met people that I was genuinely afraid of (and found out later my judgment was pretty good). I am sure there were other dangerous people that didn't broadcast their intentions/actions too plainly. It doesn't seem surprising that people would naturally cover the range that would include truly dangerous people.
For the most part, it isn't clear to me where you start to dichotomize people as to evil or not (unless you are God I guess). I am sure I am not immune to this myself, but I am surprised at how trivially people treat others shabbily for the smallest of conveniences. There are types of behavior that would be evil if intentional or bad if unintentional or a function of fear. For example, letting others/animals suffer through personal inaction. Some of it is natural, like I've been punched breaking up fights worse than any fight than in anything I've ever gotten sucked into --- but there were times I didn't do something out of sheer desire to not have the trouble of getting involved.
Anyway, I think were all at risk when we starting committing those "small" acts of evil. I do believe that the more you do it, the more you come to see yourself as different that everyone else. Particularly when you see people treat you a certain way, your desire to help others is diminished. That is perhaps part of the source of the blind spot. A blind spot built around our own selfishness. Still, most people don't seem capable of the serial killer/genocide level of evil --- at least outside of a group mentality.
So ... an interesting topic ... which makes you think about what stands against evil ... some of which includes helping strangers and not forgetting about the down trodden. Helping others raises us up even as it should humble us to realize that even our best can only do so much good. Some of the most attractive reasons to believe in Christianity arise out forgiveness in general (not just for my sins) and the cause of helping others (though the benefits of doing good for others doesn't have to be predicated on religion).
Best to all.