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The Wisdom of Psychopaths What Saints SP PDF
The Wisdom of Psychopaths What Saints SP PDF
charm, Self-confidence v. Grandiosity, Action reasonable basis for credibility and reliability in
oriented v. Thrill seeking. data from participants lacking a reputation for
Dutton identifies seven core psychopathic honest self-disclosure. Clearly, more than self-
traits, which he labels the Seven Deadly Wins: report and interview strategies are needed.
Ruthlessness, charm, focus, mental toughness, The notion of psychopath as a psychological
fearlessness, mindfulness, and action. He finds construct consisting of a set of extreme traits
high levels of these traits in such diverse profes- fits well with psychological approaches to
sions as CEOs, Lawyers, Salespersons and Cler- understanding human nature. Harvard Psychol-
gypersons. Low levels appear in Nurses, ogist Stout (2005) offered a different view in
Therapists, Teachers, and Accountants. He heads The Sociopath Next Door. And in a recent
to Broadmoor prison (United Kingdom) to test review for the New Republic (2012), she chal-
the theory that those incarcerated do not adjust lenges Dutton not only on the light treatment of
the seven core traits to succeed in particular sit- the subject but on missing a crucial difference
uations. Within the high security Paddock Cen- between the sociopaths and the other 96%,
tre, he interviews the inhabitants of the they do not have a conscience (Stout, 2005, p.
Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder 9). Assuming that the constructs psychopath
wards using moral dilemmas. In novelistic style, and sociopath are interchangeable, the chal-
Dutton illustrates the losing side of psychopathy. lenge of the role of conscience might be of par-
The journey ends with an unexpected foray ticular interest to JPC readers. Of course, this
into spirituality. Using Venn diagrams, Dutton leads to another conundrum, how do we mea-
illustrates how spiritual and psychopathic states sure the construct, conscience?
may overlap in facets like stoicism, mindfulness, Deriving wisdom from psychopaths may trig-
fearlessness, and mental toughness, while not ger a revulsion response but there are matters of
sharing traits associated with persons identified interest to readers of JPC that deserve a look. I
as psychopathic (e.g., impulsivity, lack of con- mentioned considerations of spiritual mental
science) or spiritual (e.g., love, gentleness). states and the features of conscience. Perhaps of
In The Wisdom of Psychopaths, Dutton demon- greater importance is the assessment of psycho-
strates considerable charm as a writer who com- pathic traits in Christian leaders, which is vital to
municates well with scientists and educated the prevention of abuse within society as a
readers. While focused on his thesis, he takes
whole and within churches and religious organi-
readers on action-adventures from New Mexico
zations in particular.
to Montreal and rural England. The excursions
are both entertaining and educational. Readers References
new to the study of psychopathy will become Dutton, K. (2010). What psychopaths teach us about
quickly acquainted with select scientists who how to succeed. Scientific American. Retrieved from
have focused on trait-based measurement as www.scientificamerican.com
well as a few explorations of neuropsychologi- Stout, M. (2005). The sociopath next door. New York,
cal correlates, which I did not discuss because NY: Broadway Books.
the nascent findings seems peripheral to the the- Stout, M. (2012, December). In praise of empty souls
sis. The hypothesis that a set of core traits asso- Can we learn from psychopaths? Retrieved from
ciated with psychopathy may be adaptive when www.newrepublic.com/book/review/wisdom-of-
modulated is interesting and may have some psychopaths-kevin-dutton#
benefit assuming researchers could establish a * * *
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