Is there a reason why not?
Sure, they actually notice when others get hurt and would prefer to avoid actions that will cause this. You could also say they are to varying degrees empathetic. You could also babble about mirror neurons etc. Some small percentage my avoid the behavior of sociopaths because of guilt alone or training or fear of reprisals. Sociopaths tend to think this is the only motivation and this often makes them feel better about what they are like.
lol… Most hold sociopathic beliefs.
How do you figure? Any evidence whatsoever to support that claim?
No. Pick up a dictionary or even better, a dsm.
- you need to demonstrate this, not simply state it. This is a philosophy forum. You asked a question, I gave an answer with some support. Instead of now stating your belief in a non-question form and either backing up this belief or addressing my supporting arguments, statements, you simply make a claim. Which makes your thread, so far, a concise rant and would better fit the rant house 2) your thread title is are most people sociopaths? This is simply not the case, as the term is used by psychologists and psychiatrists. I can, however, see interesting arguments being made for this. Let’s see if you can put one forward.
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Anecdotally, the arguments used to support positions on this forum.
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The actions of people in wider society. Self-interest is the basic human motivation, and most only ever act on self-interest.
It seems to me people argue against actions, often here, when the actions would lead to harming others.
Even if this was the case, most people dislike causing others pain, at least if they have to witness this pain or know of it or have direct contact with those people. IOW most people are not sociopaths but any usual definition of the term and most people will not come close to getting this diagnosis from a psychiatrist.
If you look at the actual definition of a sociopath, you can see it is really impossible for most people to be one, since then the norms would be different…
It is generally called the antisocial personality disorder these days…
Notice how having self interest as the main motivation is a radically different definition of the term. In fact sociopaths, because of their social patterns, impulsiveness, lack of empathy fail to act in their self-interest, and as a rule.
No, very few people are legit sociopaths.
Although, looking at stuff like the Milgram Experiments, Sanford Prison Experiment, the whole ‘by stander effect’ and whatnot, it’s easy to think otherwise.
People are flawed and all, but not sociopathic. It’d be impossible for society to function with nobody but sociopaths.
In the Millgrim Experiment, the subjects were pressured to disregard their reluctance to inflict pain on someone else. They were pressured by an authority figure and supposedly for some good end. It is still horrifying that they did what they did, but a sociopath needs no pressure to disregard the suffering of others. They will do this on their own initiative and not feel bad at all about what they have done, unlike what many people experience after ‘following orders’. The sanford prison experiment involved role pressures and authority pressure. Again things the sociopath does not need to inflict pain. And again, still, the results were pretty horrifying.
Also there is a whole set of other characteristics that separate sociopaths from the everyday, prepped to become a good fascist citizen type behavior of many ‘normal’ people.
And yes, I saw you wrote…
My response was more to the gallery of the OP writer.
lol…
As said, most here make sociopathic comments. You do.
Can you list some of nobelrusts sociopathic comments? And how do most people fit the definition of sociopathy. You have certainly said things, but you havent backed them up.
So statements (as most here make) like “nothing matters” or “who gives a shit what happens? anything goes” are not sociopathic?
So statements (as most here make) like “nothing matters” or “who gives a shit what happens? anything goes” are not sociopathic?
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- are these statements nobelrust has made? 2) those statements sound nihilistic or hopeless and most people do not make them, in any case. How did you determine that most people think those things? 3) sociopaths break norms, so it is impossible for everyone or most people to be sociopaths. Sociopaths do not have empathy or sympathy. You can think that there is no objective morality but still get upset when other people are in pain.
See if you can actually demonstrate that people here are sociopaths, let alone people in general.
- are these statements nobelrust has made? 2) those statements sound nihilistic or hopeless and most people do not make them, in any case. How did you determine that most people think those things? 3) sociopaths break norms, so it is impossible for everyone or most people to be sociopaths. Sociopaths do not have empathy or sympathy. You can think that there is no objective morality but still get upset when other people are in pain.
See if you can actually demonstrate that people here are sociopaths, let alone people in general.
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Yet when citing a non-objective morality, you all push for wild abandon. How is that not sociopathic?
You didn’t respond to my post. You generalized inaccurately about what we all do. And even if we all did that, it would not be sociopathic. Check again the definitions of sociopathy.
Can you actually make a case for what you are asserting?
It is sociopathic. Don’t let reality bite you on the arse.
I asked if you could back it up, not if you could state your incorrect opinion again.
I would say that most people who ask this question are sociopaths.
Sociopaths, at the very bottom, hold beliefs about why it is they do what they do. Given that they exist in a community, it is almost imperative that they give some explanation, even if it is:
It was just what I wanted to do.