3 ms·
I guess the questions I have are whether the prevalence of psychopaths has remained constant or decreased over time, and/or if the general level of violence in
by janalsncm 2y ago
I guess the questions I have are whether the prevalence of psychopaths has remained constant or decreased over time, and/or if the general level of violence in all people has gone down.
(And by psychopath, I loosely define it as people who enjoy hurting other people.)
In other words, we have information about the victims, but not the perpetrators.
My hunch is that it is both.
- morkalork 2y agoIn the book The Psychopath Inside, the author posits that psychopathy arises when an unlucky person inherits too many of the related traits, and that on their own those traits provide an advantage (or at least no negative effect) for survival, so evolution isn't going to remove them.
- andai 2y agoFascinating. Reminds me of a gene that, if you get one copy, massively boosts your intelligence and creativity, and if you get two copies, gives you a serious neurological disease.
- yownie 2y ago≥(And by psychopath, I loosely define it as people who enjoy hurting other people.) why though, literally no one else would define it thusly? Sadist sure, but sociopathy has a very distinct definition already.
- andai 2y agoIsn't that the definition of sadism? I thought psychopathy was defined by lack of empathy. (Obviously the two go together nicely, but this doesn't seem to be strictly necessary.) I met a man who claimed to have no empathy, but was otherwise normal. (He called himself a psychopath for this reason.) He said that he felt he was lacking something important about being human.