I shouldn’t think a psychopath would care much either way, beyond which course of action might benefit them at the time.
I agree, but the fact that they don’t care is the problem. Abortion might be a means to an end, a way to immiserate a target demographic. Without compunctions and moral impulses, anti-abortion laws, witch-hunting, and racism become viable vehicles for collective punishment and self-gratification.
The Sociopath Next Door is full of case studies from a Harvard psychiatrist specializing in sociopathy. The extremes of the disorder are obviously disturbing, but what happens when the neuropathology is sub-diagnostic?
My interest is in how psychopathy connects to people’s epistemic hygiene. That is, the ability, habits, and motivation to correctly construe reality. Think about it. Moral facts are just like any other kinds of fact. Someone with ASPD would be unresponsive or insensitive to moral facts (as you said). But epistemic facts have the same flavor, and pathological lying is symptomatic of psychopathy.
What has to go wrong in a brain for a person to lose concern about misconstruing or misrepresenting reality?
What has to go “right”, though? I think that presupposes an idealised state of human development that can be deducted from. I’m not sure what the neutral form is for a human, but those kind of beliefs are so common I wonder if the pathology is baked-in, so to speak.
Plus, some people really do think embryos are people! They get triggered by abortion as if you killed their dog in front of them. I happen to think they’re wrong, but the urge to anthropomorphise things is very strong, and there’s at least some logic behind their belief.
I think that presupposes an idealised [sic] state of human development that can be deducted from.
If you don’t think that mental illness exists, then there’s no point having this conversation.
Plus, some people really do think embryos are people!
Yes, and some are flat-earthers (truly) and Trump supporters, and some compulsively eat dirt. That’s kind of the point. Insanity is strange and we want to understand it better.
I agree, but the fact that they don’t care is the problem. Abortion might be a means to an end, a way to immiserate a target demographic. Without compunctions and moral impulses, anti-abortion laws, witch-hunting, and racism become viable vehicles for collective punishment and self-gratification.
The Sociopath Next Door is full of case studies from a Harvard psychiatrist specializing in sociopathy. The extremes of the disorder are obviously disturbing, but what happens when the neuropathology is sub-diagnostic?
My interest is in how psychopathy connects to people’s epistemic hygiene. That is, the ability, habits, and motivation to correctly construe reality. Think about it. Moral facts are just like any other kinds of fact. Someone with ASPD would be unresponsive or insensitive to moral facts (as you said). But epistemic facts have the same flavor, and pathological lying is symptomatic of psychopathy.
What has to go wrong in a brain for a person to lose concern about misconstruing or misrepresenting reality?
What has to go “right”, though? I think that presupposes an idealised state of human development that can be deducted from. I’m not sure what the neutral form is for a human, but those kind of beliefs are so common I wonder if the pathology is baked-in, so to speak.
Plus, some people really do think embryos are people! They get triggered by abortion as if you killed their dog in front of them. I happen to think they’re wrong, but the urge to anthropomorphise things is very strong, and there’s at least some logic behind their belief.
If you don’t think that mental illness exists, then there’s no point having this conversation.
Yes, and some are flat-earthers (truly) and Trump supporters, and some compulsively eat dirt. That’s kind of the point. Insanity is strange and we want to understand it better.
I’m English, that’s how I spell it. You’ve outed yourself as a bit of a twat, so I’m going to leave it there.
Whereas you don’t think mental illness exists. I guess we all have our burdens to bear.
Of course I do! You must have misunderstood me. Not to worry, though.