It is one of life’s biggest questions: Are we born knowing the difference between good and evil? Or are we taught our moral beliefs by parents and society? Can a predisposition change? morals-ac360/ morals-ac360/

What is a psychopath? A personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior Interestingly, the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) doesn’t include a formal diagnosis because the term includes a wide range of behaviors

Brain of a psychopath Compared to a control brain (top), neuroscientist James Fallon’s brain (bottom) shows significantly decreased activity in areas of the frontal lobe linked to empathy and morality—anatomical patterns that have been linked with psychopathic behavior. Image via James Fallon

A true case of nature vs. nurture “I’ve never killed anybody, or raped anyone,” he says. “So the first thing I thought was that maybe my hypothesis was wrong, and that these brain areas are not reflective of psychopathy or murderous behavior.” But when he underwent a series of genetic tests, he got more bad news. “I had all these high-risk alleles for aggression, violence and low empathy,” he says, such as a variant of the MAO-A gene that has been linked with aggressive behavior. Eventually, based on further neurological and behavioral research into psychopathy, he decided he was indeed a psychopath—just a relatively good kind, what he and others call a “pro-social psychopath,” someone who has difficulty feeling true empathy for others but still keeps his behavior roughly within socially-acceptable bounds.

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Should we feel sympathy?

Works cited nature/the-neuroscientist-who-discovered-he- was-a-psychopath /?no-ist