Which is stronger: bad genes or good parenting?
Familiar devil: in the world of a psychopathic scientist
Katie Drummond, “The Verge”
The devil you know: inside the world of a psychopathic scientist
And he's a psychopath.
In 2005, after years of studying the brains of psychopathic killers, Fallon made a stunning discovery when he studied his own snapshot as part of another scientific project. He discovered that his brain looked exactly like the brains of the cold-blooded killers he had spent the last 20 years studying. And after analyzing his DNA, Fallon discovered that there are several genes in his genetic profile that are very strongly associated with violent psychopathic behavior.
When Fallon spoke about his discovery at the TED Foundation conference in 2009, the leading media seized on him. National Public Radio (National Public Radio) spoke about him, the Wall Street Journal wrote on the front page, they even filmed an episode about him in the TV series "Criminal Minds". But Fallon told his own version of the story. In the new book "The Psychopath Inside" (Psychopath from the inside), he tells from a strictly scientific standpoint about our expanding ideas about psychopathy – looking at this issue through the glasses of his own biology and behavior. And his behavior, Fallon admits, is by no means commendable. He is not a murderer, but he openly writes about his drunkenness, about eternal lies, as well as about dangerous and reckless impulsivity. And he admits that he has never had real intimacy (even with his own wife). So how did a specialist in the field of psychopathy reconcile and live with the alarming symptoms of his illness? We talked to Fallon to find out.
– I think you will agree that the term "psychopath" is thrown around quite freely, and society thinks of psychopathy as a disease that affects the most cold-blooded murderers. But you note in your book that in medicine psychopathy is not even called a diagnosable disease. What is it, in your opinion?
– You are right that there are many definitions of psychopathy, and there is no exact set of symptoms that can indicate it. If you look at the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), you will not find psychopathy there. When I ask my psychiatrist friends, they agree with my point of view. This is mainly due to the fact that many of the traits characteristic of a psychopath – and this is narcissism, sadism, antisocial behavior – manifest themselves in other disorders. So there is no clear set of defining signs of psychopathy, and we cannot develop criteria for its diagnosis. In fact, this often happens in psychiatry: we don't have categorical answers, because these disorders are very multidimensional.
And as for people's ideas, I would say that the best, most vile, sadistic and vivid example of a psychopath for them is Hannibal Lecter (fictional character of the writer Thomas Harris – approx. transl.). The psychopath appears to us exactly like that. But I would say that more often in real life we meet such psychopaths as FBI Agent Will Graham tracking down Hannibal. This is a prosocial psychopath, a man from the office who seems a little crazy, but does not commit any vile and egregious acts and crimes. I would put myself in this category. I often have strange and disturbing thoughts, but I don't do anything in accordance with these thoughts. And there are actually few people like Hannibal, but they are written about excessively often in the media.
– So, since you are not Hannibal personally, what kind of psychopath are you?
– I realized that the most important thing for me is power. I get a buzz from manipulating people, making them want to do something for me by making unreasonable and immoral demands on them. I just like to know what I can do. It's like a game that I start playing whenever I walk into a room. I can demonstrate charm, I can achieve what I want. My external data is not so good: I am fat and old. But I can inspire people with the idea that there is something special about me. And it gives me the pleasure that I strive for.
If I suddenly went bankrupt, if I didn't have a career, a family, then I would be able to violate the laws of ethics and morality, I could commit disgusting acts in order to get what I wanted and, in my opinion, what I needed. But I'm lucky because I have a wonderful and privileged life, and I don't have to break these laws. I just want to say that I could easily have come to this.
– As a scientist, you have long adhered to the ideas of genetic determinism: that our character, actions and destiny are determined by biology, not the environment. But you write that after learning about your genetic profile of a psychopath, you changed your views. Why?
– As a child, when I went to school, everyone talked about society, about the environment, about the environment, how these things shape a person. And I looked around, and saw a lot of wonderful, but poor people, as well as a lot of rich scum. So I thought: "If the environment is the key to everything, then it's not doing what it's supposed to do." I have gained confidence that we are being born, but not brought up. And all my life I've been studying exactly how the brain influences what we become.
But I didn't match my theory myself. My brain scans were the same as those of notorious psychopathic killers. And I have the genetic profile of a psychopath. So why didn't I do the same things as them? Well, it seems to me, because I was brought up wonderfully and with great warmth in my wonderful family. And many of those who have the same DNA profile as me, and who show terrible cruelty, have experienced terrible mental trauma. So the merit of the environment and the environment turned out to be more serious than I thought. However, this does not mean that I have given up biology altogether. When all this started happening to me, epigenetics was developing rapidly in the world. Biology probably still determines what kind of person you are, but the environment can also play a role by turning off or turning on certain genes.
– You have known about your brain scan for four years, but after writing the book, you shared these results with other people, told about unpleasant traits of your personality, and also confirmed that your behavior affects your family, friends and colleagues. What was it like?
– It is not easy to recognize and come to terms with the pain that you have caused your loved ones. I never really thought much about my behavior, considering that everything is just fine. But you never know what people are saying about you behind your back. And when I started asking people to talk to me honestly, they agreed, and they told me, "You know, Jim, you're often a real ass, or you're just inconsiderate and indelicate." My brother-in-law, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War, told me that what he faced in the war was nothing compared to the risks he took when he contacted me.
The most important thing in all this is that I took a new look at my life, my family and my attitude towards it. I'm very lucky because no matter what, they still think that deep down I'm a pretty good person. My professional pride is also very important to me, and my colleagues mostly treat me the same as before, and, as before, trust my judgments. But I must admit that there are a couple of people who no longer want to communicate with me – especially one who literally ran away from me. They reinterpreted their communication with me when it became known about my psychopathy, and they did not like it.
– But now that you have recognized the consequences of your behavior, have you managed to change something?
– Well, my wife has come, so let's ask her. ["This is Katie Drummond from The Verge, she wants to know if I've changed for the better after all this."] She says that yes, I have become more attentive and tactful. Like that.
I really tried to change my behavior during this process, and I continue to do so. I decided to start doing everything that people think is right. I go to weddings, funerals, I think about people's feelings – that is, I do things that I don't get much pleasure from. It's just an everyday decision not to be an ass, not to lie to get the chance to go to a bar. I'm not doing this because I'm so good; I'm doing it because of my pride. I want to know if I can handle it. Believe me, there is no magic in this. But becoming a nicer person makes me fatter. You know, it's impossible to control all the urges at once.
– Let's say someone reads your book (I'm asking on behalf of a friend of mine) and begins to worry that he has many of the same traits as you. For example, he aspires to power, he manipulates people, he does not know how to establish emotional contact. What advice would you give to those readers who are worried that they, too, may be prosocial psychopaths?
– Well, I can only say what helped me. I am a Catholic, although not very diligent, and I started thinking about my psychopathic behavior in terms of the seven deadly sins. In my opinion, these are just characteristic features and manifestations of psychopathy under other names. Using the word "sin", we just sort of mitigate psychopathic behavior. If it's a sin, then everything is fine, because everyone sins, and then you can go to church on Sunday, pray, and your sins will be forgiven. But in reality it's not like that.
I would say that about 10-15% of us are in a borderline state in terms of psychopathy. But we forgive such actions, look at them through our fingers, protect each other, saying: "Come on, he always does that," or "Well, what can you do, that's how she is." This is an epidemic of Stockholm syndrome. I would advise you to give up these shitty terms and excuses for your behavior and ask yourself what you are really doing and how it affects others. Elementary linguistics helped me to correct my behavior. Instead of saying, "Oh, yes, it's a sin – I need to go to church," you need to say, "Wow, I acted like a real psychopath, and I need to think about how to stop it."
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru14.11.2013