gadad

From the link to the book (above):

"We are accustomed to think of sociopaths as violent criminals, but in The Sociopath Next Door, Harvard psychologist Martha Stout reveals that a shocking 4 percent of ordinary people—one in twenty-five—has an often undetected mental disorder, the chief symptom of which is that that person possesses no conscience. He or she has no ability whatsoever to feel shame, guilt, or remorse. One in twenty-five everyday Americans, therefore, is secretly a sociopath. They could be your colleague, your neighbor, even family. And they can do literally anything at all and feel absolutely no guilt."

The lack of conscience is, to me, what characterizes evil. Interestingly, it also characterizes reptiles, and the adjective that we frequently use to describe sociopaths is "cold-blooded."

So, are sociopaths born or developed? Without reading Dr. Stout's book, I presume that it's both. Certainly any of us can be born with portions of our brains that function relatively poorly or not at all. But a common thread among many serial killers is that they have had, at some point in their lives, a traumatic head injury. I know that Charles Whitman, who killed over a dozen people from atop the U. of Texas Tower in 1966, believed at the time that there was something wrong within his brain, and requested in his final letter before the shooting that his brain be autopsied after he was killed by police so that the answer could be found. The medical examiner found a malignant glioblastoma tumor that would have probably killed Whitman within a year.

Obviously, only a small fraction of brain injury survivors exhibit sociopathic behavior, and not all sociopaths have a history of brain injury. But it would seem that the ability to commit heinous acts without any remorse could have its origins before birth or could result from later influences.

geomom

Before kids, I thought we all started off good, empathic. But I as I raised my kids I saw some two year olds who enjoyed inflicting pain. I mean these kids would pinch, throw sand, ruin another little kids play, etc., and then smile at the result. Maybe they were naturally a little light on empathy, but I could see the attraction. They did have a certain power! By the way, they also were already sneaky about it. One mom saw the behavior and intervened like a hawk. Her method was to scoop him up, apologize to the victim, leave, and on the was home reiterate why that was unacceptable. Her life was hell for about a year and a half, and then the kid totally changed into a sweet sociable kid. The other kid's parents always excused and explained away her behavior and now they have a teenage hellion on their hands.

I don't fault these kids. Precocious anti-sociability has its intrinsic rewards (power), but without intervention I think it becomes almost an addiction.

TheDad

"Socrates said that evil stems from the absence of knowledge. Then two youths from Sparta jumped him behind the Parthenon and broke his nose." ----loosely translated from memory, Woody Allen.

younghoss

Just to clarify, not all Christians believe in the "original sin". I'm not a cleric, but I believe that belief is primarily held by Catholics. That's why they baptize newborns, in case something happens to the child, he has been cleansed and can go to heaven. Some other Protestants believe baptism should be reserved until the individual has enough logic and learning and maturity to fully comprehend the meaning and to actually choose baptism.

On another note, I am surprised to read mathmom is a devil worshipper(opposite of a Christian). Not all follow Christ, not all follow any specific God, some choose not to follow any God, but to admit to devil worship is very bold.

Schmaltz

We're born ok, but excessive watching of MSNBC will cause the gullible to become evil.

Mr Payne

Genetics absolutely influences personality traits.