ABSTRACT
Two central conditions for autonomous agency that are highlighted by many existing accounts include (i) reasons-responsivity and (ii) authenticity. To adapt to changing circumstances and exercise autonomy, agents need to be responsive to relevant considerations and exhibit flexibility. In addition, they must have a relatively stable sense of what they care about so that their concerns and commitments can give their pursuits a sense of direction and purpose. The stability of agency allows for “authenticity” and character formation, making it possible for agents to commit themselves to long-term activities and projects. However, agents with psychopathy are deficient with respect to both the flexibility and stability of agency, narrowly focused on self-gratification in the present moment, and unresponsive to other-regarding considerations. Because they lack a well-formed character, they are largely incapable of deep moral understanding and cannot commit to long-term pursuits and projects. This chapter argues that these moral cognitive deficits and agential impairments are rooted, at a deeper level, in attenuated affective framing patterns and underdeveloped regional identities.
