Psychopathy and Evil
Sarah Kahn

12 June 2017
There is a certain diagnosis considered rare and nearly untreatable in the mental health community: psychopathy. Of course, a small amount of psychopathy may be socially advantageous. Consider the cool and collected CEO or saw-toothed lawyer. However, extreme cases illustrated by the fictional Patrick Bateman ofAmerican Psychoor the not-so-fictional child, Samantha from the June 2017 issue ofThe Atlantic, reveal that psychopathy is not only chilling but highly dangerous.
精神变态者除了表现出行为异常外，还表现出生理异常。因此，临床医生可以区分普通的暴力罪犯和精神变态者。Given this, more and more psychopaths are sent to treatment centers over correctional facilities in an attempt totamerather thancurethis mental disease.
As attitudes shift from punishment to rehabilitation for curbing the threat to society posed by psychopaths, should our moral appraisal of their actions shift as well? How ought we to understand psychopathy, especially child psychopathy? If some unlucky children are wired to lack empathy or remorse, can we justifiably call them evil?
University of Pennsylvania Psychologist, Adrian Raine, argues that psychopathy is not a choice. So, to what extent can an action be labeled evil in the absence of choice? What must be true about the agent such that she is freely choosing to commit evil acts?

Comments(2)

Cristy NL.'s picture

Cristy NL.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017 -- 2:29 AM

It's terrible! We can't call

It's terrible! We can't call children with psychopathy evil. I understand that psychopathy is not a choice, but people with this diagnosis must be isolated. One day they can hurt someone.

Cristy NL.

Pussy-Control's picture

Pussy-Control

Thursday, December 9, 2021 -- 3:29 PM

You are an ignorant coward

你是一个无知的懦夫，无法驾驭那些拥有进化优势的“诊断”的人。患有自闭症、癫痫、焦虑和LGBT的人在这些情况被理解或接受为正常之前被“隔离”。

你不可能把我们都困住。祝你好运，在这个世界上，你可以毫不犹豫、毫不困难地在思考、智慧和欺骗中坚持下去。

People like me are everywhere. Blending in is part of my personality disorder.
像我这样的人是你的知己，治疗师，神职人员，我们是你的女儿，儿子，兄弟和姐妹。

“I don't feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel guilt. I haven't blocked out the past. I wouldn't trade the person I am, or what I've done, or the people I've known, for anything. So I do think about it. And at times it's a rather mellow trip to lay back and remember.”

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