ABSTRACT
Betty Joseph, a British psychoanalyst, first read this paper at the 21st International Psychoanalytic Congress in Copenhagen, July 1960. It was published that same year in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis. Joseph relies on the work of Melanie Klein and illustrates, through the analytic case of a young, noncriminal psychopath, the impulse–feeling–defense triad of greed–envy–devaluation in such patients. If the psychopath spoils that which he hungrily wants—the goodness in others—it is not worth having. Joseph posits this dynamic as a defense against anxiety, guilt, and depression, which may be true in her example. However, neurotic personality organization must be achieved to nurture such socialized feelings; this level of personality will not exist in the more primitive, less conflicted primary psychopath, whose greed, envy, and derogation are adaptive aspects of his aggression and psychological homeostasis.
