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Thinking only sociopaths can do really terrible things is likely very wrong. Normal people can decide over some time to switch off empathy, or to work against i
by make3 9y ago
Thinking only sociopaths can do really terrible things is likely very wrong. Normal people can decide over some time to switch off empathy, or to work against it. This needs to be understood.
- LordKano 9y agoAnger, pain or desperation will make otherwise normal people do some very abnormal things. Even in the most "civilized" and wealthy of western democracies, 1 week of no food, water and electricity would lead to absolute bedlam. Three months of that kind of desperation would lead to otherwise normal people killing and robbing strangers. When the crisis abates, they'll be able to rationalize away their behavior because it was necessary.
- cuckcuckspruce 9y agoThe most dangerous person in the world is someone with nothing to lose. If you have nothing left to lose then you aren't constrained by worrying about tomorrow.
- jimmywanger 9y ago"An empty stomach has no conscience". I would argue that neither does a stiff dick. If you look at Maslov's hierarchy, if you can't fulfill your basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid, you're not really looking for self-actualization.
- jonnybgood 9y ago> Normal people can decide over some time to switch off empathy, or to work against it. Yes, and all it typically takes to turn off empathy is believing they're doing the right thing against "bad" people.
- moron4hire 9y agoI don't think there is any evidence to show that sociopathy is only an innate attribute and that it is not learnable. The only definition of sociopathy I can find is based on behavior. So if you act like a sociopath, it doesn't really matter how many nightmares you had on the way to getting there, you're a sociopath.