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Chapter 2 - Psychopathy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2021

Jim Baxter
Affiliation:
University of Leeds
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Summary

In this chapter, working with scientific evidence, I build up a picture of the psychopathic personality which can be applied to my preferred account of moral responsibility. After sketching an introduction to the history of psychopathy as a clinical construct, I consider some disputes and controversies surrounding its diagnosis. I distinguish psychopathy from Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), a rival construct commonly used in clinical settings. I also sketch the implications of evidence for a distinction between ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ psychopaths for the overall construct. I conclude that the Hare Psychopathy Checklist is the most robust measure available, a measure which describes psychopathy as a condition characterised primarily by emotional deficiencies. I then review neuroscientific evidence for structural and functional correlates and causes of psychopathy. I also review evidence for the treatability of the condition, concluding based on the current psychological and psychiatric evidence that psychopathy appears to be highly recalcitrant to the treatment methods that have been tried so far, and that some of these methods may even be counter-productive.

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Chapter
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Moral Responsibility and the Psychopath
The Value of Others
, pp. 36 - 55
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Psychopathy
  • Jim Baxter, University of Leeds
  • Book: Moral Responsibility and the Psychopath
  • Online publication: 27 August 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009025355.003
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  • Psychopathy
  • Jim Baxter, University of Leeds
  • Book: Moral Responsibility and the Psychopath
  • Online publication: 27 August 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009025355.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Psychopathy
  • Jim Baxter, University of Leeds
  • Book: Moral Responsibility and the Psychopath
  • Online publication: 27 August 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009025355.003
Available formats
×