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Sean Faircloth:
Attack of the Theocrats!
I pulled this excerpt from the article just to highlight a point I often feel inescapable whenever I give my time to taking seriously the claimed science of pyscho-writers.
Read the list and see if you can substitute any professions (especially ones involving finance) for the title sociopath.
"Sociopath:
Low impulse control
High novelty-seeking needs (desire to experience new things, high need for arousal)
Shows no remorse for their actions (lack of conscience, no experienced guilt)
Inability or unwillingness to see past own needs in order to understand how another feels (lack of exhibited empathy)
Detached emotionally from situations, personal relationships
Willing to break rules, defy authority
Always acts in the interest of himself, in whatever fashion ultimately serves him best (selfish, self-protective)
Extremely fragile or unstable ego, or self-identity
Extreme emotional sensitivity"
It does not take long to realise how there is an often impenetrable language barrier to explaining anything about 'stereotypical' personalities - let alone disorderly ones. I can easily foresee how a wealthy personality disorder might gain enough popularity to set up their own country, or religion, whilst a poor one ends up in the local clinic. Historically this is very provable. Double standards abound throughout the 'classes' of society.
Hence, for me, psychology is a necessary pseudo science, seeking to understand and explain that which needs far more concise explanation, but which, it seems, cannot fail to fall into the trap it seeks to eliminate - becoming stereotypical about things it seeks to reduce the bigotry and bias respecting.
It's why I often want to take it very seriously but find I default to missing the mark. I perceive many of Its manoeuvres from theory to reality as a bridge too far! In fact I often consider the 'psychology expert', and especially underlings thereof, to be employing a high degree of circular hypothesis akin to that which religious thinkers employ in support of their 'feelings' about others behaviours/thoughts/attitudes.
I'd have hoped for a far more science specific approach but maybe there isn't one and that's the problem that perpetuates the irony of attempting to. Some things just avoid scientific analysis - and often deliberately so!
Permalink Sat, 09 Apr 2011 10:19:46 UTC | #613456