4 ms·

Isn't this textbook sociopathy?

buro9 11y ago
No. > sociopath: a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Nothing in not feeling emotions means that one would lack a moral responsibility or social conscience, or is antisocial and often criminal.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- PavlovsCat 11y ago
  Well, there surely is a big difference in not having words for emotions, or being unable to feel them, and them not arising in the first place, at all. But still: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexithymia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexithymia > Individuals high on the alexithymia spectrum also report less distress at seeing others in pain and behave less altruistically toward others. Which doesn't surprise me, really; at least for me, for how I operate, there is a clear distinction between acting to avoid punishment or to seek reward, and a conscience; the latter is always connected to emotions, for me. Here's another admittedly random tidbit from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_%28emotion%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_%28emotion%29 > As a highly social animal living in large groups that are relatively stable, we need ways to deal with conflicts and events in which we inadvertently or purposefully harm others. If someone causes harm to another, and then feels guilt and demonstrates regret and sorrow, the person harmed is likely to forgive. Thus, guilt makes it possible to forgive, and helps hold the social group together. and > When we see another person suffering, it can also cause us pain. This constitutes our powerful system of empathy, which leads to our thinking that we should do something to relieve the suffering of others. If we cannot help another, or fail in our efforts, we experience feelings of guilt. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely agree with the impulse to reject any sort of "witch hunt" or even "just" looking down on people. It's not the fault of people who can't feel remorse that they can't feel remorse, especially since "harder variants" like NPD are very often the result of abuse and trauma (and in so far they are genetic, there's no fault either), and since all of this is on a spectrum, and most of us likely are on it, they also must not serve as scapegoats. But it's fascinating and important, and while the person this story is about is probably a decent guy, it can also be a very unsettling and sinister topic, yet still important - I'd even say we shy away from it at our own risk.
- michaelfeathers 11y ago
  Here's a functioning sociopath with a conscience but it's not feeling based. It seems very similar: https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201305/confessions-sociopath https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201305/confessions-...

buro9 11y ago

No. > sociopath: a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Nothing in not feeling emotions means that one would lack a moral responsibility or social conscience, or is antisocial and often criminal.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
PavlovsCat 11y ago
Well, there surely is a big difference in not having words for emotions, or being unable to feel them, and them not arising in the first place, at all. But still: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexithymia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexithymia > Individuals high on the alexithymia spectrum also report less distress at seeing others in pain and behave less altruistically toward others. Which doesn't surprise me, really; at least for me, for how I operate, there is a clear distinction between acting to avoid punishment or to seek reward, and a conscience; the latter is always connected to emotions, for me. Here's another admittedly random tidbit from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_%28emotion%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_%28emotion%29 > As a highly social animal living in large groups that are relatively stable, we need ways to deal with conflicts and events in which we inadvertently or purposefully harm others. If someone causes harm to another, and then feels guilt and demonstrates regret and sorrow, the person harmed is likely to forgive. Thus, guilt makes it possible to forgive, and helps hold the social group together. and > When we see another person suffering, it can also cause us pain. This constitutes our powerful system of empathy, which leads to our thinking that we should do something to relieve the suffering of others. If we cannot help another, or fail in our efforts, we experience feelings of guilt. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely agree with the impulse to reject any sort of "witch hunt" or even "just" looking down on people. It's not the fault of people who can't feel remorse that they can't feel remorse, especially since "harder variants" like NPD are very often the result of abuse and trauma (and in so far they are genetic, there's no fault either), and since all of this is on a spectrum, and most of us likely are on it, they also must not serve as scapegoats. But it's fascinating and important, and while the person this story is about is probably a decent guy, it can also be a very unsettling and sinister topic, yet still important - I'd even say we shy away from it at our own risk.
michaelfeathers 11y ago
Here's a functioning sociopath with a conscience but it's not feeling based. It seems very similar: https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201305/confessions-sociopath https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201305/confessions-...