It looks like my post gave you the impression that I was equating disorder with morality. That was not my intention. I certainly have my moral stance on various things but I have no desire to discuss them in an online forum. Wikipedia defines mental disorder as the following: "A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual components. The recognition and understanding of mental health conditions have changed over time and across cultures, and there are still variations in the definition, assessment, and classification of mental disorders, although standard guideline criteria are widely accepted. A few mental disorders are diagnosed based on the harm to others, regardless of the subject's perception of distress. Over a third of people in most countries report meeting criteria for the major categories at some point in their lives." Homesexuals have a statistically higher rate of suicide and substance abuse than heterosexuals. They report emotional distress associated with their orientation. I understand this is most likely due to cultural reasons, but combine that with the fact that they have measurable physical differences from heterosexuals and a case can be made to classify it as a disorder according to the definition above. My sole intention is to point out that there are professional standards agreed on by the bulk of psychologists on how best to classify disorders. I am suggesting to the posters in this thread that if they are really interested in this topic they might want to actually educate themselves to some degree. I agree with you that it is not a hard scientific method. That really is to be expected considering the subjective nature of psychology. Regarding my military service, I am proud of what I do, and if you find a way to fight a war without hurting anyone please do share it with the world. You and others in this thread might be interested in reading a book called "On Killing" by Lt Col Grossman. He examines the psychology of killing by those in positions where it is legal to do so. It is interesting that even in war most people are incapable of killing. Off the top of my head I want to say that only 10% of soldiers in WW II actually fired to kill the enemy. It has been theorized that those with some degree of antisocial personality disorder actually make the best soldiers, at least those that have chosen to live a legal and morally upright life. They are capable of making difficult decisions that most people aren't able to without being too distraught over it now or in the future. So once again I am not equating disorder with morality. Rather I see it as a variation from normal. As far as atrocities, the US military has one of the best records of any military in world history. There have been very few true atrocities commited and those are heavily publicized and the guilty parties severely punished. I can't think of a single atrocity actually sanctioned by the US military at a level above maybe a company commander who would be a captain in his 20's with a few years of service. The fact of the matter is that when you get someone to the point where they are able to kill another human, it will sometimes lead to unwanted results and those people have to be punished and removed from the military. Again, if you know to do it better please let the world know.
those are muchly examples of the look I'm talking about.. I have about 200 people in my environment that I can easily find out enough about to verify if they are psychopaths: the chaotic lifestyle, con artistry, etc.. and that staring look, wow, that is the very first and most important tell probably... I've found and interacted with two so far and gotten the look from at least one other... I can't stand one of them, just can't stand the bullying jerk.. He's why I started reading up, I felt the need to beat him down somehow but then one day I woke up and was thinking that the very best thing to do is to avoid the son of a bitch. I told his friend that I didn't want to be around the guy because trouble was brewing and it's working out fine.. There isn't a lot one can do with unreasonable people other than avoid them.. The guy tried to start a fight with me once, I was more interested in having dinner so I just walked.. He would have lost the fight and I think he knew that, but his real goal was mind control. He was using shocking behavior to induce a light trance and start some mind control... I'm helping a woman to try to pick up the pieces of her life after nearly two decades with a psychopathic bf.. The psychopaths first abuse, then they act like it didn't happen, then they get the victim to act like it didn't happen... She's one of those abused [and scared] people that won't prosecute the guy.. She's going to move, far, with no forwarding address before he gets out of the lockup. That's the best answer we could find... I told her if he finds out where she lives i'm dropping her like a bad habit... In Jails, eye contact is pretty much taken as a challenge, the culture is psychopathic.. Eye contact will be met with "what are you looking at!!" verbal type challenges. I have had to deal with one a long time ago, the funny thing is, they win because they are always running their agenda and they are good at psychological manipulation.. I made it my agenda to get the guy out of my business and my agenda outdid his. I went after him legally by teaming up with his enemy, then I screwed up his illegal income and finally I talked to the manager where he was trying to rent and warned him. The last time I saw him he was between a rock and a hard place.. years later it occurred to me that I had the perfect crime under way! Drive somebody into homelessness and then off them! Police don't investigate that much when transients get whacked... And no, I'm not quite a psychopath, I'm a boring ENTP, we seem heartless but believe me, having a heart all the time can get one killed or worse yet, can get one entangled with a Psychopath that will never let one out of the mess...
+1...very intriguing topic & good read. im working on a sociopathic neighbor as i speak....will elaborate on it later.
From the description: "teaches Ronson how to spot these high-flying individuals by looking out for little telltale verbal and nonverbal clues" Thanks much, I'm putting that on my Kindle right away...
will do, I read to her, I have a Kindle book on the subject and I read it to her but education doesn't seem to be the answer in her case... Education is the answer for some personality types but not others..
sounds like a fascinating study. please keep up us updated as you go deeper with your analysis. how many do you suspect to be psychopaths?