ABSTRACT
A psychopath is essentially a person who is unable – lacks the psychological capacity – to feel concern or compassion for others. While most people have the capacity to care for others, most of ordinarily caring people are also able to “turn off” their caring in certain situations. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised is generally considered to be a reliable tool for diagnosing psychopaths. Some lawyers and scholars have criticized the checklist. There are plenty of situations in which non-psychopaths do not have a moral understanding of prohibitions against certain behavior. And, despite their temptation to violate these prohibitions, they refrain from this behavior for no other reason than that it is prohibited. By definition and on the basis of empirical evidence, psychopaths are incapable of feeling compassion and therefore understanding how concern for others, not just fear of punishment, generally motivates the “rest of us” to refrain from engaging in activities that would otherwise maximize the self-interest.
