Sociopathy vs Selective Empathy

Now for a slightly more controversial one.

There is an implicit assumption in our society that people are sociopaths when they act out as bullies or commit violent crimes. Often it is assumed that people with strong alpha type personalities are sociopaths, and that those who do not show pity, or empathy when expected have the disorder.

If this were true however, would it not make every single human a sociopath? An empath can be very selective with his or her empathy. The boy who bullies other children on the playground could have a great deal of love and empathy for his pet dog. Loving fathers can hug their wives and children then proceed to destroy an entire village. People who love their country and their god can be driven to torture and murder. The most terrible crimes throughout human history have not been committed by the hands of sociopaths, but by those of empaths, often inflamed in their passions and convinced of their righteousness.

What of most tyrants, should we assume that they are sociopaths? Many tyrants have been narcissists and sociopaths it's true, but many tyrants have also been empaths, with loved ones for whom they shared an abundance of empathy. Also Tyrants would hold little power if empaths were not easily convinced to follow them. Atilla The Hun for instance was recorded to have been quite the family man, very loving and compassionate to his daughters and friends, yet his marauding bands killed entire families in sadistic sport.

Were not the Witch Burning mobs of Salem empaths? Were not the Crusaders who killed Muslims in the name of Christ and Kingdom? Were not the suicide bombers who committed the ultimate self sacrifice to strike vengeance against those they perceived as despoiling their homeland, robbing them of their dignity, and offending their god? Were not many Nazi Germans who's great love and obedience to Fuhrer and Father Land inspired them to commit great atrocities, or the allies who carpet bombed cities, or the U S pilots who firebombed cities and ultimately massacred a capital full of countless civilians, many of whom were elderly, women, and children, in a single atomic massacre?

Sam Harris describes this as a failure of empathy. When your morality is based on chemical sensations then it is subject to failure and it can be manipulated.

However, while the greatest crimes of history have not been committed by sociopaths, I propose to you that the greatest crimes of the modern era are committed by business men simply doing business, many of whom are sociopaths, or at least institutionally function as sociopaths. Empathy is increasingly a selective disadvantage, especially in an economy based on competition.

I present to you that a system characterized by the continuous accumulation of wealth in which money is an inescapable survival necessity, facilitates predatory behavior in sociopaths, and that reliance on authoritarian moral edicts and appeals to empathy are insufficient to teach us morality.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Sociopathy
• vs
• Selective
• Empathy
• Empath
• History
• Atrocities
• Psychopathy
• Narcissistic
• Personality
• Disorder
• Narcissist
• Narcissism
• Sociopath
• Sociopathic
• Psychopath
• Psychopathic
• Immoral
• Amoral
• Moral
• Compass
• Psychology
• Psychiatry

[Laughingblades]

@foraminutethere23 Makes sense, sociopath love isn't like normal love, it's a bit more primal on the one hand and more detached on the other.

Like for me, I'm not sure if love is the right word, I only recently reached the point where I feel able to hold down a relationship and take proper care of a cat, which in a way I guess I sort of view as a cross between a game, and experiment, and a social investment. I really like the guy I'm dating but I don't think it's the same.

[Laughingblades]

@foraminutethere23 Sociopaths are generally fine as long as we have something to keep us occupied. There are a lot of pros and cons to relationships, a lot of sociopaths have a hard time holding down steady long term relationships I know I do, but there are some that are really good at it.

We're social animals so it can be nice to have a partner, but it can also feel entrapping & suffocating, it all depends on the individual and what they want & are ready for.

[foraminutethere23]

@Laughingblades So my question to you is: are sociopaths relatively happy people? Does not having stable relationships interfere with a sociopaths happiness or is it no big deal? And if I may, what is it that you get out of trolling? Anyways, I like your videos and your writing. They've helped me to understand her a little bit better. Thanks in advance. Wish you all the best.

[foraminutethere23]

@Laughingblades I think that's good advice. I had a gf who was a sociopath and I didn't find out till I kept at her about things and she told me. I learned to react differently to her than I would other people. When I found out that she would not get attached to me emotionally I detached myself from her emotionally so I wouldn't get needlessly hurt. And we got on pretty well for awhile.

[theamvgirlx]

@colecionar xD

[colecionar]

@theamvgirlx lol more like Professor Moriarty...

[theamvgirlx]

Sociopaths aren't necessarily BAD. Most detectives are sociopaths. They have to be or they'll drive themselves insane. Perfect example: SHERLOCK. Enough said :)

[theamvgirlx]

@Laughingblades It's sad. It's the same with humans. If a girl is sexy, she is more likely to get away with bad actions that an ugly person would not. Someone called me sociopathic and do you know what I should have said? "So are you bitch" Too much in the norm to think outside the box. I was actually empathic to EVERYTHING when I was younger but then I developed a hatred of humans' selfish actions and eventually humans altogether, making me become the very thing I hate. Because it's survival.

[Laughingblades]

@snoopyouamacintosh My thoughts exactly.

[snoopyouamacintosh]

@snoopyouamacintosh I would continue but the 500 character limit is annoying!