Essay on psychopathy

Psychopathy : a curse or a blessing? Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by antisocial behavior and a lack of empathy. Psychopaths are thus insensitive to the feelings of others, which is often accompanied by fearlessness and impulsiveness. Some become violent offenders, and some don’t. The latter are those who learned to control the impulses and create a mask of charm. These ‘functional psychopaths’ often attain desirable positions such as CEO, lawyer and surgeon thanks to their ability to remain calm under pressure. Experts are debating if, as a whole, psychopathy is a curse or a blessing. Research shows it’s both. Psychopathy can be beneficial, as well as a problem, and by paying attention to environmental factors and intervening, the number of psychopaths who go on to become violent offenders can be reduced.

Firstly, psychopathy offers some advantages to the affected individual, and even to society as a whole. The recklessness of psychopaths is often a welcome trait in overcoming everyday problems. There are times where being able to fake through difficult situations can be helpful. According to J. J. Ray, “classical descriptions of the psychopathic personality include a number of highly desirable characteristics in addition to the obviously undesirable ones” (J. J. Ray, 135).
Some of these qualities include high confidence and reduced anxiety. “Psychopaths are assertive. Psychopaths don’t procrastinate. Psychopaths tend to focus on the positive. Psychopaths don’t take things personally; they don’t beat themselves up if things go wrong, even if they’re to blame. And they’re pretty cool under pressure. Those kinds of characteristics aren’t just important in the business arena, but also in everyday life“ (Amy Crawford, 1).
Kevin Dutton, in his book The Wisdom of Psychopaths, identifies seven qualities that can be important tools if properly used. The “seven deadly wins” of psychopathy according to him are ruthlessness, charm,