He posted three articles discussing the same possibility as what he's been explaining.
It's okay though, I didn't read them immediately either. It's not a bad read, and it is an interesting theory.
The only part I disagree with is "Daddy's" use of the term affective empathy. I'm still under the assumption it's him perspective taking (a form of cognitive empathy) as opposed to mirroring, but at the very least I believe that he believes that it's affective.
Scored a 7.
I kept coming up with 11 but I realized I answered the opposite of what I wanted to a question (damn double negative sentences I'm too tired right now for those).
But a lot of people in here are should score low on that scale.
by Daddy
Edd.... How many times do I need to share this... Sociopaths don't lack empathy, they shut it off...If they had none they would be incapable of manipulating people, more over, they would be incapable of understanding the mental state of others. Without an understanding of the mental state (such as dex and other autistic types) It would be impossible for them to read and manipulate their targets. Empathy is required to understand things from the perspective of another. This is what empathy is, the expression of mirror neurons where by we are capable of putting ourselves in the shoes of another and feel what they feel.
Sociopaths are quite good at feeling what others feel, and to that end, they are also quite good at shutting down those feelings if they so choose to do so.
Sorry, still can't see it. So sociopaths emotionally empathize with people then turn those feelings off? Lmao. Why do they turn them off in the first place? And even if they turned them off automatically, they'd still lack them in the end, so your point is kinda meaningless anyway.
You think you understand sociopaths because you consider yourself one, and you really empathize with people and have values/ a moral code you live by. But the truth is you're not a sociopath, you're an egomaniac with a tough skin because of childhood abuse (mostly coming from your mother) and who's been mentally conditioned by military training. I know how conditioned I've been by my training, and how unaffected I am by other people's pain in certain situations. That doesn't make me a sociopath.
And I agreed that sociopaths are good at rationally understanding others. I made the exact point Turncoat made later...
by TurncoatI can't really speak for ASPD, but in my own case as someone who lacks affective empathy, I manipulated others to understand emotions better for myself. I couldn't feel it like they did, so I had to understand why they felt it like they did, even if it made some feel like shit in my quest for understanding.
This technically trained my sense of cognitive empathy. I'd argue that if you're debating over this "heightened sense of empathy" claim, the question ought to be "which one?".
So sociopaths emotionally empathize with people then turn those feelings
off? Lmao. Why do they turn them off in the first place? And even if
they turned them off automatically, they'd still lack them in the end,
so your point is kinda meaningless anyway.
I feel like I've already explained this half a dozen times... but once again.
So sociopaths emotionally empathize with people then turn those feelings off?
There is no on off switch in the mechanical sense...
On the one hand we have the capacity to empathize with others, this is a requirement for high level social integration. Our ability to percieve the emotions of others greatly impacts our ability to understand what the other person is going through and thus affects our ability to manipulate those emotions.
On the other hand there is a defense mechanism which operates mostly on a subconscious level that aids in handling stress. In some cases that stress can be the sensation of affective empathy when the emotions of another has a negative impact on their ego. This negative impact on the individuals ego is suppressed by suppressing the ability to empathize with another.
That's a very important aspect to understand... Do you get what I'm saying?
You think you understand sociopaths because you consider yourself one, and you really empathize with people and have values/ a moral code you live by. But the truth is you're not a sociopath, you're an egomaniac with a tough skin because of childhood abuse (mostly coming from your mother) and who's been mentally conditioned by military training. I know how conditioned I've been by my training, and how unaffected I am by other people's pain in certain situations. That doesn't make me a sociopath.
The whole concept of being a sociopath is a vague misnomer. It isn't a disease that can be labeled like cancer. You can find a cancer cell, it has a location and a physical manifestation. ASPD or Psychopathic Disorders are more accurately defined as a set of personality traits found in influential/manipulative people. That is what I consider myself. As to your diagnosis, the things you mentioned have certainly been part of what shaped me into who I am. But that's the thing about these traits, they are mostly learned and reinforced through our environment.
I think the thing that bothers you most about my stance is your own fears of being labeled a sociopath. Something you obviously associate yourself with, even though you deny being one. Don't you find that peculiar?
In any case the whole concept of sociopathy is still growing and evolving. I think in the future this "disorder" will be rebranded into a more positive "personality type" with high functioning and low functioning aspects.
The truth is we're just human... and we have a compulsion for fitting things in neat little boxes and giving them labels. Psychology isn't perfect and it's beliefs change daily with new discoveries... It has certainly not been perfected as of yet and remains mostly the realm of theory and with that comes much speculation. Many dangerous notions and much ignorance.
In the end our inclinations don't define us. How we harness our strengths and suppress our weakness's is what defines us. We all have our broken pieces, a we all have bad days. But what defines us isn't our labels, it's what we do with what we got.
Everything else is just a load of jackin off.
So you're not denying that you have affective empathy and a moral code that you live by and yet, you're still claiming to be a psychopath?
lol, seriously...
What makes you any different from the average, non-psychopathic person who also has affective empathy and a moral code they live by?