Help me understand! Please weigh in....

I think sociopathy exhibits in a number of ways and for various reasons. Some of them are depraved and some of them are deviant, some are both depraved and deviant and they are the most dangerous of sociopaths. There is no single explanation for why any of them are the way they are or why they do whatever they do.

Personally I do NOT wish to understand any of them.

I should learn a bit more about 'sociopaths'.......

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I am sure of two things: There is a God, and I am not Him.
The movie Rudy

I'd like to point out that there are people who are sociopaths that never do anything harmful to anyone. Not all sociopaths end up being dangerous.

Yes, we are born selfish. But normally, we are also born with the need for social connection and exquisitely sensitive to social cues, which leads us to learn how to behave so we get rewarded by those social connections, and eventually we learn to feel what others are feeling. For whatever reason, a sociopath does not develop those connections fully.

I agree and I don't know if it is possible to divide up the contributing factors that are initial inherited behavior and environmental. I would like to point out that also, it's not impossible for a sociopath to learn and change... it's possible because humans can be highly programmable if they have a desire to alter their innate state. It's funny, interesting.,.. whatever, just how complex and unpredictable individuals can be. I love the human mind and the human self, I even have a fondness for the broken ones, as I believe any god must.

Evil. Just plain evil. We've forgotten that there IS a lot of evil in the world.

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Smarter sociopaths tend to gravitate towards careers that give them money or power over others or both. Doctor, Lawyer, Cop, Politician. Keep this in mind when dealing with people in power.

An interesting read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/bo...-e-thomas.html

A sociopath acting out, is "uncivilized".

Yes. Psychopathy, as well. I'm not smart enough to have the extra letters after my name to tell the difference, or whether either applies in your OP. But as a layman I do find the topic fascinating. I heard once that 1 in 20 worldwide are one or the other. But I don't remember the source so you may as well throw that number out the window.

And I'll throw this grenade in the room and then leave the thread: it is my understanding that those that don't come unglued tend to gravitate towards the upper power echelons in society. To borrow from Jeff Foxworthy,

"If you don't remember where you were on 9/11, you just might be a sociopath."

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Honesty and integrity are homesteading virtues.

We were born to survive... Over time, we've become socialized and created and accepted morals..

We're no different than a wild animal.. we all have the capability to kill and not feel anything about it... It's the morals we've been taught that cause us to feel something about it.. If our morals are weak, we can do pretty much anything most people can't comprehend..

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Never let your fear decide your fate!
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I was starting to worry about me. I remember where I was.

So Foxworthy is saying that a sociopath is SO consumed with themselves, that they have no idea what's going on around them....nor do they care, because it does not effect them?

__________________
I am sure of two things: There is a God, and I am not Him.
The movie Rudy

Some times, but not always.. There's no set rules..

__________________
Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

Probably the reason O keeps forgetting when he was born. They seem to create their own reality.

Oh boy. My apologies to everyone, Jeff Foxworthy not withstanding. I didn't intend to cram all of those words into his mouth. I was only intending to steal his redneck shtick.

I really need a few more nights at the Holiday Inn Express, but I'd say that sounds pretty good, especially the "don't care, doesn't effect them" part. I don't know that it is necessarily the case that they are so consumed with themselves, but that could be.

I find the topic somewhat interesting because I tend to follow alternate news sources and peer into the non-official versions of events. (Translated: I wear my tin foil shiny-side out.) Often, just as you did in your OP, I ask myself, "What would make a person do that?". And sociopathy/psycopathy is a handy answer at times. I ponder the types that operate in life without a conscience to hold them back. Add to that the skill to mask it, and it is perfect path for a power hungry mad man. The 9/11 reference was just a swipe at particular folk that couldn't remember where they were on 9/11. Same sort of thing happened with JFK's assassination.

@Bret

Me too!

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Honesty and integrity are homesteading virtues.