This thread arises out of conversation I had IRL, and I’m interested in opinions.
Some say psychopathy and sociopath are the same thing. Some say it’s a matter of degree. Some say psychopaths are born and sociopaths are made.
Whatever the case or terminology, there are those among us who lack empathy, conscience, and remorse. And those who study such things state that some are born this way—miswired from birth.
So, where does the moral culpability lie? If psychopathy results from organic brain defects, is the psychopath responsible? On the other hand, many have normal to high intelligence and are certainly aware of social/ religious/ moral standards, even if they do not internalize them.
I’m interested in hearing thoughts on this topic.
It's a complex phenomenon.
I was born with a genetic predisposition to become alcoholic. The way this predisposition manifested was in an exaggerated and uncomfortable internal 'self-awareness' that made everyday life very anxious. And in a brain structure that responds to alcohol with a very strong, euphoric reaction. So that this combination made my first experience with drinking alcohol almost a magical revelation. It erased that constant feeling of self-conscious anxiety for the first time in my life, and replaced it with an intense and euphoric feeling of joy and freedom. And as might be expected, I absolutely fell in live with it, immediately. And I wanted more of it, immediately. In this way I was genetically (bio-structurally) predisposed to become addicted to alcohol (or rather, to the drunken state that alcohol produces).
However, I was eventually able to overcome that addiction, with external help. And I have not had a drink in many years. I point this out to try and explain the relationship between "nature" and "nurture". Nature designed me to be an alcoholic. And so I became one. But I also always had the choice not to "obey" nature's predisposition. Unfortunately, I was not willing (and maybe not even able at that young age) to disobey that natural drive until it had nearly destroyed me. There was a choice, and yet there was no choice. None that I could honestly recognize as such at the time. I realize this sound paradoxical, and it is. But it is also nevertheless the case.
And I think this paradoxical relationship between our natural drives and instincts, and our internal and social control of those drives and instincts are very complicated, and multifaceted. And we see this sort of difficult and paradoxical phenomenology with all sorts of addictions, and compulsions, and individually and socially destructive human behaviors. It's why societies, historically, have so much difficulty responding to them with any real positive effect.
Having experienced this weird paradox of both having a choice, and not having one, simultaneously, I am now reluctant to pass judgment on those who find themselves trapped in a similar internal dynamic. Certainly. we have to protect ourselves against these destructive behaviors, addictions, compulsions, and so on. But I think we need to be very careful in laying blame, or discussing presumed cures or options. Because it's a very complex and difficult phenomena to grasp. And even more-so, to grasp clearly.