Are psychopaths responsible for their deeds?

 

I have blogged this previously but it is in the news again.

‘I would have done it again’ Anders Breivik

Devoid of shame or an ounce of remorse about massacring defenceless teenagers, Breivik appears tormented by his failure to go to university.

Then I read a review on the book The Psychopath Test where Hare ( I think he is an academic) and I quote from the Amazon review explains the science of psychopathology: a part of the brain called the amygdala doesn’t function in psychopaths as it does in other human beings. When a regular person experiences extreme violence or carnage (or even photographs of such scenes), his amygdala becomes overstimulated, provoking an extreme anxiety response in the central nervous system. When a psychopath experiences the same stimuli, his amygdala does not respond: no anxiety response occurs. This explains the psychopath’s lack of empathy.

This is a theory of course but does this mean psychopaths are not responsible for their actions?

Which implies of course that these monsters and perpetrators should be excused.

What a sad and cruel world

 

 

I do believe although he may well be responsible for his actions he should be sent to an asylum so that he will be locked up for the remainder of his ‘natural’ life. Furthermore I question the theory postulated here because you will have to test thousands and thousands  of psychopaths before you can come tho this conclusion. Even then it still would not be a fact.

Are psychopaths responsible for their deeds?

 

‘I would have done it again’ Anders Breivik

 

Devoid of shame or an ounce of remorse about massacring defenceless teenagers, Breivik appears tormented by his failure to go to university.

Then I read a review on the book The Psychopath Test where Hare ( I think he is an academic)  and I quote from the Amazon review explains the science of psychopathology: a part of the brain called the amygdala doesn’t function in psychopaths as it does in other human beings. When a regular person experiences extreme violence or carnage (or even photographs of such scenes), his amygdala becomes overstimulated, provoking an extreme anxiety response in the central nervous system. When a psychopath experiences the same stimuli, his amygdala does not respond: no anxiety response occurs. This explains the psychopath’s lack of empathy.

This is a theory of course but does this mean psychopaths are not responsible for their actions?

Which implies of course that these monsters and  perpetrators should be excused.

What a sad and cruel world