Guise of Humanity

We Must Protect Ourselves through Education on Dangerous Personality Disorders

Having specialized in evaluating and treating violent offenders my entire career, I am considered an expert on psychopathy, and certainly sociopathy, which are dangerous personality disorders that best predict violence. These diagnoses are made cautiously and sparingly, since they can stigmatize persons, but we must counterbalance this with the need to warn potential victims and the public, so that they might better protect themselves. Above all, society needs to be better informed more generally, so that it does not fall easy prey to well-disguised, dangerous personalities who increasingly inhabit our midst.

At the onset of my quarter-century career, I encountered sociopaths and psychopaths mostly in jails and prisons, my main settings for clinical work. Very disturbingly, over time, I found them increasingly in leadership positions, as chief executive officers, legal professionals, or political leaders — and less in correctional settings. This means that society is not doing a good job at containing them, and they are escaping detection more and more. Just about all of them crave power, so that they can exploit the trust and privileges accorded them to bolster their fantasies of unlimited domination and their drive to harm others. Distinguishing them from true aspirants with real capabilities is crucial: they may masterfully disguise themselves as ideal candidates for a job, for example, but once given the task, they will only destroy whatever they are put in charge of — be it a family, a company, or a nation.

What is psychopathy? Briefly, it can be defined as a personality disorder characterized by an absence of compassion or conscience, constant engagement in emotional manipulation as a way of navigating the world, and a propensity for destructiveness and cruelty. Sometimes called “outsiders to love,” individuals with this affliction are impaired in almost every human emotion, except envy of other human beings, rage, and revenge. It is arguably the most debilitating disorder known to humankind, for there is no cure* — and the masterful guise of sympathy, humanity, and competence is all deception intended for predatory purposes. It is certainly the most dangerous disorder known to psychiatry, as it wreaks more havoc on individuals and society than all other psychiatric disorders combined.

What is sociopathy? Briefly, I call this a “societal disorder” rather than an individual one, since society is the…