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This isn't entirely accurate. Psychopathy involves impaired affective (emotional) empathy as a core trait, while cognitive empathy remains intact or can even be

This isn't entirely accurate. Psychopathy involves impaired affective (emotional) empathy as a core trait, while cognitive empathy remains intact or can even be enhanced. This is slightly different from autism, which typically shows impaired cognitive empathy but intact affective empathy. Psychopathy is not about choosing not to feel empathy - it's a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in emotional responsiveness and empathic concern for others (meaning they can't). -"opathy" is usually a disorder outside of one's control.

LoganDark 2y ago
I think you might have run into the exact thing I put in my comment: "not to be confused with ASPD", which is also sometimes called sociopathy. I use psychopathy and sociopathy differently (such that psychopathy is chosen while sociopathy is inherent) and choices like these can be an autistic trait. I'm not talking about empathic struggles, but rather a choice not to care too much about someone's emotions in a particular context. I don't know how to square these with the commonly accepted definitions because the commonly accepted definitions are kind of ridiculous (the terms psychopathy, sociopathy, and ASPD are collectively sort of ambiguous because they all each mean everything somehow; nearly everyone is confused about them in some way). This is why I said psychopathy "can be" the selective inhibition of empathy, because by some definitions that's what it is. Other definitions like yours essentially define it as what I call sociopathy (simply being without empathy in the first place). I don't claim my definition to be the only definition because psychopathy can sort of mean either thing depending on who you ask, but I use my definition just for the sake of argument.
- tejaskumar_ 2y ago
  Heard! Sorry if I came across as combative! I spent way too much time around clinicians and tend to stick to formal definitions a little too much.
  - LoganDark 2y ago
    The thing about psychopathy sort of being defined either way depending on who you ask is that we don't necessarily know for sure which definition is right anymore. They're essentially both "correct in a way". The term also has a somewhat muddied history that makes it difficult to figure out what it was truly originally supposed to mean, so we don't even know which definition today is supposed to be the right one.

LoganDark 2y ago

I think you might have run into the exact thing I put in my comment: "not to be confused with ASPD", which is also sometimes called sociopathy. I use psychopathy and sociopathy differently (such that psychopathy is chosen while sociopathy is inherent) and choices like these can be an autistic trait. I'm not talking about empathic struggles, but rather a choice not to care too much about someone's emotions in a particular context. I don't know how to square these with the commonly accepted definitions because the commonly accepted definitions are kind of ridiculous (the terms psychopathy, sociopathy, and ASPD are collectively sort of ambiguous because they all each mean everything somehow; nearly everyone is confused about them in some way). This is why I said psychopathy "can be" the selective inhibition of empathy, because by some definitions that's what it is. Other definitions like yours essentially define it as what I call sociopathy (simply being without empathy in the first place). I don't claim my definition to be the only definition because psychopathy can sort of mean either thing depending on who you ask, but I use my definition just for the sake of argument.

tejaskumar_ 2y ago
Heard! Sorry if I came across as combative! I spent way too much time around clinicians and tend to stick to formal definitions a little too much.
- LoganDark 2y ago
  The thing about psychopathy sort of being defined either way depending on who you ask is that we don't necessarily know for sure which definition is right anymore. They're essentially both "correct in a way". The term also has a somewhat muddied history that makes it difficult to figure out what it was truly originally supposed to mean, so we don't even know which definition today is supposed to be the right one.