Great post! Metaphysics adds another dimension to this. I was just listening today to your discussions with the podcaster/blogger formerly known as Rolo Slavskyy on the metaphysics of evil (all excellent and insightful discussions, by the way!), and reading this -- well, suppose we grant the possibility that some malevolent spiritual agent is acting upon the psychopaths, it seems reasonable to think that such agent would also seek to coordinate the psychopaths' efforts in order to influence social norms and institutions, with the goal of making them more dysfunctional and detached from reality, which would, in turn, result in both more harm/suffering and more of a camouflage for psychopathy, allowing the psychopaths to drop their mask of sanity and act more openly. Malicious spirits manipulating malicious people manipulating incompetent useful idiots, and the ensuing chaos providing more opportunities and cover for the malicious. A truly vicious cycle!
We are indeed in the middle of a competence crisis, for those with demonstrated good judgment and general competence, it is amazing and troubling to observe. Btw more people need to understand the Pareto Dist, and while the 80/20 is a good way to explain it and understand it, in reality its often more extreme, your 6 and 94 is also Pareto.
This bias and resulting discrimination in family court and divorce have brought about a suicide crisis for middle age men. 75% of divorces are initiated by women. Men are often left alone, broken and financially bankrupt. If you have kids, just imagine that one day a judge tells you that you get one weekend every two weeks to see your own children. They are often turned against you by your ex-spouse.
You lose the home you worked hard to buy while some other man is living in it. All the while you're expected to continue paying. Essentially, you are being replaced by another man and you have no control over it. A horrible nightmare. No wonder 75% of divorces are initiated by women. It's sad but understandable that a man would be devastated.
I can't emphasize enough that this is a generalization. 25% of divorces are initiated by men. Also, some women who initiate divorce have good reason. Most of all it's no picnic for them either. My point is that the judicial system needs to change. It's broken and has been for a very long time. Women can do a lot to speak out for fairness. I think that's what it's going to take to make positive changes.
Yes, absolutely, but the appellation serves only as a marker. In one very real sense, it's a distraction.
It's the other side of the coin that is the pathologization of everyday eccentricity. Another outcome of therapy culture that is neither therapeutic nor cultural.
Psychopaths are, as you so astutely point out, embedded within every strata of society. As a practical matter, labeling them as evil is how the average low-information person obtains some slight protection from the malevolent acts of the psychopaths among us.
Fine essay, by the way. Looking forward to your further explorations of the mechanism of action by which incompetence breeds malevolence.
I find this article very well-written. Is it the start of a new approach in your writing? For me, it is certainly more to the point, as it shows us the way to remedial actions that can be taken.
Hubbard is quoted that he found about 2-1/2% of the people he worked with to have "suppressive" or "criminal" personalities. Elsewhere he is quoted that about ten times that number are actively connected to such people and cause most of the problems in society. You have stated this in a similar way. The psychopath "targets" others in his vicinity and attempts, essentially, to drive them crazy.
He started out calling such people "accident prone," and developed a test for them which is still in use. Later, when he developed his Suppressive Person theory, he began to call them "Potential Trouble Sources" (PTS). You will find these terms in his literature - particularly his writings on Ethics and Justice - if you ever get a chance to look these over.
An extension of this is his Third Party Law, which is available on the Scientology streaming channel as a narrated video. The "Third Party" is a Suppressive Person (psychopath) who is working to create conflicts between people, preferably violent conflicts. Because of this, wars and other violent conflicts will seldom fully resolve because the Third Party has not been located.
Courtney Brown, while unaware of Hubbard's work in this area, has discovered the existence of "bad ETs" who "get in the heads" of their targets and give them misinformation in order to cause trouble. Human third parties must resort to rumor mongering or "whispering campaigns" to accomplish a similar outcome.
The added dimension of ET involvement in life on Earth is an unsettling complication. But whether the Third Party, SP, or psychopath is a regular human or an ET with psychic powers, the handling is similar.
The general public has to be made aware that such personalities exist, as well as the mechanisms they use to cause trouble. Each individual can then endeavor to rid themselves of their own mental weaknesses that cause them to get attracted and attached to such personalities; or develop some other form of safeguard. The therapy required to "proof" oneself against psychopaths does not come cheap, so most of us - for now - must rely on personal or social (legal) mechanisms for detecting and avoiding such "bad" people. An obvious target for education is lawyers and legal scholars. I do not expect this, though, to be an easy job. My church, with all its people and money, is having a very difficult time of it.
Harrison, did you see the latest Jordan Peterson interview with Schellenberger, apparently he is writing a book called "Pathocracy", and the Political Ponerology book gets a lot of airtime...
In a way we can use Tolstoy to peer deeply into the issue but it is a leap - Tolstoy said history would be a wonderful thing if only it were true. We who live in a Fallen World know that Jesus Christ is true and many Christians are not Christian despite Baptism and church attendance. And this simply is observational. Old Adam lives each generation, and the civilizing encounter with Faith has I believe curbed the worst in us but it is a Fallen World.
I always thought this was the fundamental flaw in the movie Idiocracy: the assumption that stupid people are benevolent and willing to defer to smarter people if given the chance. Anyone with even a little life experience knows it's the opposite.
Great post! Metaphysics adds another dimension to this. I was just listening today to your discussions with the podcaster/blogger formerly known as Rolo Slavskyy on the metaphysics of evil (all excellent and insightful discussions, by the way!), and reading this -- well, suppose we grant the possibility that some malevolent spiritual agent is acting upon the psychopaths, it seems reasonable to think that such agent would also seek to coordinate the psychopaths' efforts in order to influence social norms and institutions, with the goal of making them more dysfunctional and detached from reality, which would, in turn, result in both more harm/suffering and more of a camouflage for psychopathy, allowing the psychopaths to drop their mask of sanity and act more openly. Malicious spirits manipulating malicious people manipulating incompetent useful idiots, and the ensuing chaos providing more opportunities and cover for the malicious. A truly vicious cycle!
We are indeed in the middle of a competence crisis, for those with demonstrated good judgment and general competence, it is amazing and troubling to observe. Btw more people need to understand the Pareto Dist, and while the 80/20 is a good way to explain it and understand it, in reality its often more extreme, your 6 and 94 is also Pareto.
This bias and resulting discrimination in family court and divorce have brought about a suicide crisis for middle age men. 75% of divorces are initiated by women. Men are often left alone, broken and financially bankrupt. If you have kids, just imagine that one day a judge tells you that you get one weekend every two weeks to see your own children. They are often turned against you by your ex-spouse.
You lose the home you worked hard to buy while some other man is living in it. All the while you're expected to continue paying. Essentially, you are being replaced by another man and you have no control over it. A horrible nightmare. No wonder 75% of divorces are initiated by women. It's sad but understandable that a man would be devastated.
I can't emphasize enough that this is a generalization. 25% of divorces are initiated by men. Also, some women who initiate divorce have good reason. Most of all it's no picnic for them either. My point is that the judicial system needs to change. It's broken and has been for a very long time. Women can do a lot to speak out for fairness. I think that's what it's going to take to make positive changes.
"Personality disordered?"
Yes, absolutely, but the appellation serves only as a marker. In one very real sense, it's a distraction.
It's the other side of the coin that is the pathologization of everyday eccentricity. Another outcome of therapy culture that is neither therapeutic nor cultural.
Psychopaths are, as you so astutely point out, embedded within every strata of society. As a practical matter, labeling them as evil is how the average low-information person obtains some slight protection from the malevolent acts of the psychopaths among us.
Fine essay, by the way. Looking forward to your further explorations of the mechanism of action by which incompetence breeds malevolence.
I find this article very well-written. Is it the start of a new approach in your writing? For me, it is certainly more to the point, as it shows us the way to remedial actions that can be taken.
Hubbard is quoted that he found about 2-1/2% of the people he worked with to have "suppressive" or "criminal" personalities. Elsewhere he is quoted that about ten times that number are actively connected to such people and cause most of the problems in society. You have stated this in a similar way. The psychopath "targets" others in his vicinity and attempts, essentially, to drive them crazy.
He started out calling such people "accident prone," and developed a test for them which is still in use. Later, when he developed his Suppressive Person theory, he began to call them "Potential Trouble Sources" (PTS). You will find these terms in his literature - particularly his writings on Ethics and Justice - if you ever get a chance to look these over.
An extension of this is his Third Party Law, which is available on the Scientology streaming channel as a narrated video. The "Third Party" is a Suppressive Person (psychopath) who is working to create conflicts between people, preferably violent conflicts. Because of this, wars and other violent conflicts will seldom fully resolve because the Third Party has not been located.
Courtney Brown, while unaware of Hubbard's work in this area, has discovered the existence of "bad ETs" who "get in the heads" of their targets and give them misinformation in order to cause trouble. Human third parties must resort to rumor mongering or "whispering campaigns" to accomplish a similar outcome.
The added dimension of ET involvement in life on Earth is an unsettling complication. But whether the Third Party, SP, or psychopath is a regular human or an ET with psychic powers, the handling is similar.
The general public has to be made aware that such personalities exist, as well as the mechanisms they use to cause trouble. Each individual can then endeavor to rid themselves of their own mental weaknesses that cause them to get attracted and attached to such personalities; or develop some other form of safeguard. The therapy required to "proof" oneself against psychopaths does not come cheap, so most of us - for now - must rely on personal or social (legal) mechanisms for detecting and avoiding such "bad" people. An obvious target for education is lawyers and legal scholars. I do not expect this, though, to be an easy job. My church, with all its people and money, is having a very difficult time of it.
Like that Koehli’s battle-axe!
Excellent article Harrison!
Thank you. I have to agree with fellow commentator Daniel regarding the metaphysical.
The psychopaths all march to the beat of the same drummer ultimately.
Harrison, did you see the latest Jordan Peterson interview with Schellenberger, apparently he is writing a book called "Pathocracy", and the Political Ponerology book gets a lot of airtime...
In a way we can use Tolstoy to peer deeply into the issue but it is a leap - Tolstoy said history would be a wonderful thing if only it were true. We who live in a Fallen World know that Jesus Christ is true and many Christians are not Christian despite Baptism and church attendance. And this simply is observational. Old Adam lives each generation, and the civilizing encounter with Faith has I believe curbed the worst in us but it is a Fallen World.
I always thought this was the fundamental flaw in the movie Idiocracy: the assumption that stupid people are benevolent and willing to defer to smarter people if given the chance. Anyone with even a little life experience knows it's the opposite.
Dang it. Why did you have to add another item I don’t need to my wanted list?
Have You pondered the influence of money systems on the prevalence of psychopaths in control on Our planet?
Why Does Money Promote Psychopaths? (article): https://amaterasusolar.substack.com/p/why-does-money-promote-psychopaths