Friday 15 March 2013
Is the Root of Evil the Psychopathic Mind? -- Puppet Masters -- Sott.net
Is the Root of Evil the Psychopathic Mind? -- Puppet Masters -- Sott.net: http://www.sott.net/article/246086-Is-the-Root-of-Evil-the-Psychopathic-Mind-
Thursday 14 March 2013
A Structural Theory of Narcissism and Psychopathy
Laura Knight-Jadczyk writes most coherently on the nature of pyschopathy. Below is an excerpt from her Structural Theory of Narcissism and Psychopathy.
When considering a grown up psychopath, there are highly complex neurological circuits that have developed apace in the process of learning what works to get his needs and demands met. A complex and even brilliant intelligence is harnessed in service of a restricted or deviant emotional nature. But that apparent internal infantile core of being nothing but a hunger at the center of a bundle of neurological inputs and outputs is static - it never changes. In other words, there is no core self, just a sort of black hole that wants/needs to suck everything into it.
And here we come to the reason for the insatiable rage.
Under the influence of this internal structure - this ever-present, never fulfilled, hunger - the psychopath is not able to appreciate the wants or needs of other human beings, the subtle shades of a situation or to tolerate ambiguity. The entire external reality is filtered through - made to conform to - this rigid and primitive internal structure, in the service of primitive drives.
When the psychopath is frustrated, i.e. doesn't get what they want, satisfaction of the hunger is denied or delayed, what they seem to feel is that everything in the world "out there" is against them while they are only good. This may, of course, translate into actual thought loops of being good, long-suffering and only seeking the ideal of love, peace, safety, beauty, warmth and comfort that comes with satiation (never mind that they can never achieve it), but the most fundamental thing about it is that "the infant experiences itself still in a state of limitlessness power and knowledge, a state that we call its grandiose self". That is, when a psychopath is confronted with something displeasing or threatening to his hunger, that object (person, idea, group, whatever), is placed in the "all bad" category the same way that a newborn infant reacts to a negative trauma or denial of wants or needs: a mindless, instinctive, screaming rage that is designed to be so unpleasant (possibly evolutionarily so) that the caretaker immediately does whatever is necessary to bring the infant's rage to an end, to satisfy the hunger (for whatever).
In short, if we are positing that the psychopath's inner reality is structurally similar to that of a newborn infant - or at least apparently similar - then we must also realize that the rage is also structural. Whatever triggers it MUST come into compliance, the infant/psychopath cannot be denied; the rage, the crying, the fit, whatever, will continue until the infant either gets what is wanted/needed or is so exhausted that it cannot strive any longer. And, of course, with a grown up psychopath, this structural rage has far more support and possibilities (including utilizing a very complex brain) for sustaining it for a very long time: as long as necessary for THAT OBJECT of the rage to be incorporated as was originally desired.
The bottom line is: there is never even an instant when the psychopath feels "traumatized" or "shamed" or "helpless" - the structural grandiosity is ever present along with the rage/rejection of denial.
When dealing with a grown up psychopath, things get a bit more complicated, of course, because, as mentioned above, the brain has continued to grow and develop without the concomitant emotional maturation (and this can vary from individual to individual, though the structure remains the same). If the brain of the psychopath is forced to face mounting evidence that some choice or act of his/hers has created a problem or made a situation worse, this must be denied by the brain, driven by the emotions, as part of the self and projected as coming from "out there."
The internal structure of the psychopath will admit to no wrong (it cannot), nothing bad, no errors and so, anything that is defined as "bad" is naturally - structurally - projected onto someone or something else. And keep in mind that this is not because they choose to do that, it is because they cannot do otherwise. There is nothing at the core but a hunger connected to neural inputs and outputs, wrapped up in emotional grandiosity and eternal perfection; that is the way they are made.
As a consequence of having such a primitive core structure coupled with a complex - and in some cases, brilliant - brain, psychopaths become masters of projective identification. That is, they project onto and into others everything that is bad (remembering that "bad" changes according to what the psychopath wants at the moment - that's part of the structure), and seek in manipulative ways to induce in that other person what is being projected, and seek to control the other person who is perceived as manifesting those "bad" characteristics. In this way, the psychopath gains enjoyment and feels "in control" which amounts to getting "fed" or "nurtured" in some way.
Keep in mind that what the psychopath considers to be good has nothing to do with truth, honor, decency, consideration for others, or any other thing other than what the psychopath wants at any given moment. In this way, any violation of the rights of others, any foul, evil deed, can be perpetrated by a psychopath and he will still sleep like a baby (literally) at night because he has done nothing wrong!
Subordinating a normal person to psychologically abnormal individuals has a deforming effect on his personality: it engenders trauma and neurosis. This is accomplished in a manner which generally evades sufficient conscious controls. Such a situation then deprives the person of his natural rights: to practice his own mental hygiene, develop a sufficiently autonomous personality, and utilize his common sense. In the light of natural law, it thus constitutes a kind of illegality--which can appear in any social scale--although it is not mentioned in any code of law.
We have already discussed the nature of some pathological personalities, e.g. frontal characteropathy. Essential psychopathy has exceptionally intense effects in this manner.
Something mysterious gnaws into the personality of an individual at the mercy of such a [pathological] person and is then fought like a demon. His emotions become chilled, his sense of psychological reality is stifled. This leads to de-criterialization of thought and a feeling of helplessness, culminating in depressive reactions which can be so severe that psychiatrists sometimes misdiagnose them as a manic-depressive psychosis.
Many people evidently also rebel much earlier and start searching for some way of liberating themselves from such an influence.
http://www.sott.net/article/154258-A-Structural-Theory-of-Narcissism-and-Psychopathy
When considering a grown up psychopath, there are highly complex neurological circuits that have developed apace in the process of learning what works to get his needs and demands met. A complex and even brilliant intelligence is harnessed in service of a restricted or deviant emotional nature. But that apparent internal infantile core of being nothing but a hunger at the center of a bundle of neurological inputs and outputs is static - it never changes. In other words, there is no core self, just a sort of black hole that wants/needs to suck everything into it.
And here we come to the reason for the insatiable rage.
Under the influence of this internal structure - this ever-present, never fulfilled, hunger - the psychopath is not able to appreciate the wants or needs of other human beings, the subtle shades of a situation or to tolerate ambiguity. The entire external reality is filtered through - made to conform to - this rigid and primitive internal structure, in the service of primitive drives.
When the psychopath is frustrated, i.e. doesn't get what they want, satisfaction of the hunger is denied or delayed, what they seem to feel is that everything in the world "out there" is against them while they are only good. This may, of course, translate into actual thought loops of being good, long-suffering and only seeking the ideal of love, peace, safety, beauty, warmth and comfort that comes with satiation (never mind that they can never achieve it), but the most fundamental thing about it is that "the infant experiences itself still in a state of limitlessness power and knowledge, a state that we call its grandiose self". That is, when a psychopath is confronted with something displeasing or threatening to his hunger, that object (person, idea, group, whatever), is placed in the "all bad" category the same way that a newborn infant reacts to a negative trauma or denial of wants or needs: a mindless, instinctive, screaming rage that is designed to be so unpleasant (possibly evolutionarily so) that the caretaker immediately does whatever is necessary to bring the infant's rage to an end, to satisfy the hunger (for whatever).
In short, if we are positing that the psychopath's inner reality is structurally similar to that of a newborn infant - or at least apparently similar - then we must also realize that the rage is also structural. Whatever triggers it MUST come into compliance, the infant/psychopath cannot be denied; the rage, the crying, the fit, whatever, will continue until the infant either gets what is wanted/needed or is so exhausted that it cannot strive any longer. And, of course, with a grown up psychopath, this structural rage has far more support and possibilities (including utilizing a very complex brain) for sustaining it for a very long time: as long as necessary for THAT OBJECT of the rage to be incorporated as was originally desired.
The bottom line is: there is never even an instant when the psychopath feels "traumatized" or "shamed" or "helpless" - the structural grandiosity is ever present along with the rage/rejection of denial.
When dealing with a grown up psychopath, things get a bit more complicated, of course, because, as mentioned above, the brain has continued to grow and develop without the concomitant emotional maturation (and this can vary from individual to individual, though the structure remains the same). If the brain of the psychopath is forced to face mounting evidence that some choice or act of his/hers has created a problem or made a situation worse, this must be denied by the brain, driven by the emotions, as part of the self and projected as coming from "out there."
The internal structure of the psychopath will admit to no wrong (it cannot), nothing bad, no errors and so, anything that is defined as "bad" is naturally - structurally - projected onto someone or something else. And keep in mind that this is not because they choose to do that, it is because they cannot do otherwise. There is nothing at the core but a hunger connected to neural inputs and outputs, wrapped up in emotional grandiosity and eternal perfection; that is the way they are made.
As a consequence of having such a primitive core structure coupled with a complex - and in some cases, brilliant - brain, psychopaths become masters of projective identification. That is, they project onto and into others everything that is bad (remembering that "bad" changes according to what the psychopath wants at the moment - that's part of the structure), and seek in manipulative ways to induce in that other person what is being projected, and seek to control the other person who is perceived as manifesting those "bad" characteristics. In this way, the psychopath gains enjoyment and feels "in control" which amounts to getting "fed" or "nurtured" in some way.
Keep in mind that what the psychopath considers to be good has nothing to do with truth, honor, decency, consideration for others, or any other thing other than what the psychopath wants at any given moment. In this way, any violation of the rights of others, any foul, evil deed, can be perpetrated by a psychopath and he will still sleep like a baby (literally) at night because he has done nothing wrong!
Subordinating a normal person to psychologically abnormal individuals has a deforming effect on his personality: it engenders trauma and neurosis. This is accomplished in a manner which generally evades sufficient conscious controls. Such a situation then deprives the person of his natural rights: to practice his own mental hygiene, develop a sufficiently autonomous personality, and utilize his common sense. In the light of natural law, it thus constitutes a kind of illegality--which can appear in any social scale--although it is not mentioned in any code of law.
We have already discussed the nature of some pathological personalities, e.g. frontal characteropathy. Essential psychopathy has exceptionally intense effects in this manner.
Something mysterious gnaws into the personality of an individual at the mercy of such a [pathological] person and is then fought like a demon. His emotions become chilled, his sense of psychological reality is stifled. This leads to de-criterialization of thought and a feeling of helplessness, culminating in depressive reactions which can be so severe that psychiatrists sometimes misdiagnose them as a manic-depressive psychosis.
Many people evidently also rebel much earlier and start searching for some way of liberating themselves from such an influence.
http://www.sott.net/article/154258-A-Structural-Theory-of-Narcissism-and-Psychopathy
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