On Guilt and Conscience
The question’s not
‘Why do some people do bad things?
It’s
‘Why don’t more people do bad things?’
And the answer is because most of us have things that inhibit us.
Like, we worry about hurting others, because we feel empathy.
Or we worry about other people not liking us.
Or we worry about getting caught.
When you start to take away those inhibitors, I think that’s when you end up with psychopathy...
Comment by Donald Lynam, Psychologist at Purdue University in an interview for an article in the
New York Times Magazine, 12 May 2012
‘Why do some people do bad things?
It’s
‘Why don’t more people do bad things?’
And the answer is because most of us have things that inhibit us.
Like, we worry about hurting others, because we feel empathy.
Or we worry about other people not liking us.
Or we worry about getting caught.
When you start to take away those inhibitors, I think that’s when you end up with psychopathy...
Comment by Donald Lynam, Psychologist at Purdue University in an interview for an article in the
New York Times Magazine, 12 May 2012
The most fascinating aspect of a psychopath's character is the absence of guilty feelings and how this affects their behaviour when compared to your average Joe.
Why is a conscience so important?
A normal person's conscience is not some sterile aspect of character but a major influence over current and future behaviour - just ask any representative of the Catholic Church, as boy, do they know how to do guilt! In fact, any normal person's moral standards are bolstered by the knowledge that doing bad things to others will lead us to regret our actions - we know our guilty conscience will make us feel terrible - in some cases even suicidal.
The human conscience is therefore an effective brake on undesirable behaviours, preventing us from indulging in the very things that mark the psychopath out as being so different to us. This is the reason that socialized or non-criminal psychopaths cause such havoc - they just don't care about the effects of their actions and can't really understand why anyone else should either.
They lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, and stick knives in your back - both literally and figuratively - yet are able to stroll through life as though none of it matters a damn.
Because it doesn't - to them...
Why is a conscience so important?
A normal person's conscience is not some sterile aspect of character but a major influence over current and future behaviour - just ask any representative of the Catholic Church, as boy, do they know how to do guilt! In fact, any normal person's moral standards are bolstered by the knowledge that doing bad things to others will lead us to regret our actions - we know our guilty conscience will make us feel terrible - in some cases even suicidal.
The human conscience is therefore an effective brake on undesirable behaviours, preventing us from indulging in the very things that mark the psychopath out as being so different to us. This is the reason that socialized or non-criminal psychopaths cause such havoc - they just don't care about the effects of their actions and can't really understand why anyone else should either.
They lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, and stick knives in your back - both literally and figuratively - yet are able to stroll through life as though none of it matters a damn.
Because it doesn't - to them...
This lack of conscience, a total absence of guilty feelings,
allows these creatures to do things you or I would not contemplate.
allows these creatures to do things you or I would not contemplate.
Psychopathic paradox
Your highly ambitious, baser self(!) might be feeling a little jealous of the psychopath's ability to barge his way through life, grabbing whatever he wants, screwing whoever he chooses, unfettered by the emotions you struggle with when you have done something you know to be bad.
Your highly ambitious, baser self(!) might be feeling a little jealous of the psychopath's ability to barge his way through life, grabbing whatever he wants, screwing whoever he chooses, unfettered by the emotions you struggle with when you have done something you know to be bad.
Maybe you think it would good to have no conscience?
Yet would you really wish to be like these very hollow, shallow, cold individuals, no matter how successful they have become.
The paradox is that they are very sad people in many ways, no matter how superficially happy they appear when surrounded by the trappings of success, or when they profess to be superior to those of us who 'suffer' empathy and guilt.
In reality they miss out on many of the best things in life...
Despite being unhindered by conscience and able to indulge themselves at the expense of others, they rather tragically are unable to experience genuine love and affection, or even fully comprehend those intensely positive emotions like the rest of us.
The paradox is that they are very sad people in many ways, no matter how superficially happy they appear when surrounded by the trappings of success, or when they profess to be superior to those of us who 'suffer' empathy and guilt.
In reality they miss out on many of the best things in life...
Despite being unhindered by conscience and able to indulge themselves at the expense of others, they rather tragically are unable to experience genuine love and affection, or even fully comprehend those intensely positive emotions like the rest of us.
Would you really want your strongest emotions to be
jealousy, rage and hate?
jealousy, rage and hate?
Novel characters
The psychopath's fascinating lack of conscience led me to explore and then develop the underlying theme for my novel Remorseless.
The story compares how different characters react to varying degrees of guilty conscience:
The anti-hero, the psychopathic killer, demonstrates how a total absence of guilt affects behaviour in direct contrast to the ‘normal’ cast of characters.
That subtext makes the tale – for the author at least – intriguing and I hope you found it so too if you have read the novel.
If you would like to find out more about psychopaths in fact and fiction there are some great video documentaries on real life criminal psychopaths here, non-criminal psychopaths here and some 'true to life' movie psychopaths here too.
The psychopath's fascinating lack of conscience led me to explore and then develop the underlying theme for my novel Remorseless.
The story compares how different characters react to varying degrees of guilty conscience:
- Extreme remorse causes the main character to develop nightmares and hallucinations, hindering his professionalism - with devastating consequences.
- Moderate feelings of guilt torment a working mother when the demands of her career conflict with parenting her son and put her family in danger.
- Suppression of conscience allows a husband to indulge in a promiscuous and wayward lifestyle - one he eventually comes to regret.
The anti-hero, the psychopathic killer, demonstrates how a total absence of guilt affects behaviour in direct contrast to the ‘normal’ cast of characters.
That subtext makes the tale – for the author at least – intriguing and I hope you found it so too if you have read the novel.
If you would like to find out more about psychopaths in fact and fiction there are some great video documentaries on real life criminal psychopaths here, non-criminal psychopaths here and some 'true to life' movie psychopaths here too.
Highly recommended non-fiction reads:
'Without Conscience'
is the bible for anyone wishing to research psychopaths. Highly readable - like all the books here. |
Plenty of examples of 'successful' psychopaths creating problems in corporations:
'Snakes in Suits' is my second best recommended read for the curious. |
My third and final research recommendation is
'The Sociopath Next Door' as it too is written in a very readable style, although I personally prefer Hare's works. |