In addition to the type of reasons mentioned in the article, I’ve often thought sociopathic personality types might be predisposed to succeeding in certain fields, such as science and medicine, where social skills aren’t as necessary as dispassionate, analytical thinking. (I’m not trying to say most scientists and doctors are sociopaths!) I suspect that intelligent people who lack empathy just naturally succeed in certain professions, and that modern Western medicine is among those professions.
I realize I’m engaging in amateur “armchair psychology” here. But I’m thinking along the lines of psychiatrist Andrzej Lobaczewski’s book Political Ponerology (“ponerology” = the study of evil). I realize his book may not jibe with modern psychology, but I think he was onto something with the idea that people with psychopathologies naturally gain ascendancy in certain roles, in certain contexts.
There’s something in that. I do wonder if the “Culture” of science itself ,with it’s reductionist mindset, cannot recognise what it doesn’t believe exists and is therefore more prone to it..
I’ll put it in real simple language. After my 15 years in Psych/Medical I found that highly educated people can still be ,under it all, screaming whack jobs. It’s not as rare as one might think it is.
R. L. S. – Bingo. I’ve seen the same thing over an even longer period. In my experience, psych/medical has an unusually high concentration of educated whack jobs.
I realize I’m engaging in amateur “armchair psychology” here. But I’m thinking along the lines of psychiatrist Andrzej Lobaczewski’s book Political Ponerology (“ponerology” = the study of evil). I realize his book may not jibe with modern psychology, but I think he was onto something with the idea that people with psychopathologies naturally gain ascendancy in certain roles, in certain contexts.