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HobNoblin · 36-40, M
It's more an evolutionary thing. Morals are an evolved trait, you can't really just give up on them unless you're a sociopath or otherwise mentally not all there. That's why the Stalin purposely selected sociopaths for the NKVD. Anyone with a conscience wanted out when they got selected for the "organs". The Soviet government would look the other way when you went and got a fake tuberculosis diagnosis or what ever it was you used to get out of it. They didn't want you anyway only the conscienceless. Probably the Nazi SS were like that too.
emiliya · 22-25, F
@HobNoblin Psychopathy is a scale. It is measured broadly. The men you speak of were normal with some exceptions. It is true that every person is a psychopath now and then, but all the time? It takes another kind of person to be one all the time. The scale jumps high in this instance.
HobNoblin · 36-40, M
@emiliya As I understand it sociopaths are that way all the time. Part of their brain is missing. It's a genetic defect involving runaway serotonin production in the womb that damages brain tissue. You end up with arias of the brain that are just gone. You can't feel guilt, shame, empathy or even taste and smell correctly. Emotions are blunted over all so that it takes intense experiences to even feel alive. In some ways sociopaths resemble AI more than a human being.
emiliya · 22-25, F
@HobNoblin Sociopath is psychopath. Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists use the word psychopath. Sociopath is the word that laymen use. Media and everyday people use it to describe those they find unpalatable. It is easier for them to use sociopath instead of psychopath. The former is vague, and they can get away with using it.
“You can't feel guilt, shame, empathy or even taste and smell correctly.”
Smell? Taste? Psychopaths can smell and taste. The problem is not the absence of emotions you list. It is about priorities and what matters to the psychopath. Other people are able to care about boundaries and hurting others. The psychopath is less able to care. They have needs that need to be fulfilled. There is no missing part of the brain of a psychopath. It is a functioning brain with all the parts, but there is reduced activity and differences in the structure to do with emotion regulation and impulse. The amygdala and prefrontal cortex are compromised.
“You can't feel guilt, shame, empathy or even taste and smell correctly.”
Smell? Taste? Psychopaths can smell and taste. The problem is not the absence of emotions you list. It is about priorities and what matters to the psychopath. Other people are able to care about boundaries and hurting others. The psychopath is less able to care. They have needs that need to be fulfilled. There is no missing part of the brain of a psychopath. It is a functioning brain with all the parts, but there is reduced activity and differences in the structure to do with emotion regulation and impulse. The amygdala and prefrontal cortex are compromised.
HobNoblin · 36-40, M
@emiliya Yes the prefrontal cortex and amygdala are smaller and sluggish, they don't react like they would in a normal person. The article I'm looking at says their corpus colosseum is abnormal too. The two sides of their brain can't communicate like they should. Your profile says you're from Russia, is that true?
emiliya · 22-25, F
@HobNoblin Yes.
It is true. I am from Russia.
The psychopath has to develop in a climate that does not foster it. I am talking about something banal, ordinary, mediocre. The monster is born in times of peace. Governments demand that you follow their way. How can we say that people following the way of their government, submitting to authority, are psychopaths?
You cannot tell if people are psychopaths when they are being told to be psychopaths. You can tell if they are psychopaths when they are not told to be psychopaths.
It is true. I am from Russia.
The psychopath has to develop in a climate that does not foster it. I am talking about something banal, ordinary, mediocre. The monster is born in times of peace. Governments demand that you follow their way. How can we say that people following the way of their government, submitting to authority, are psychopaths?
You cannot tell if people are psychopaths when they are being told to be psychopaths. You can tell if they are psychopaths when they are not told to be psychopaths.