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The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us
by Martha Stout
Does this author have a conscience? (8/10/2016)
Despite being a fun and lively read I found this book to be a complete turn off. The author seems intent on convincing sane people of an insane premise. That there is a lurking danger from people with normal conscience. It doesn't take long to figure out that instead of any hard data, the writer uses her imagination, and made up people to illustrate her point. Can a sane human being really believe that there is some poll to discover how many people have a conscience? You can't measure something like that in any way. What kind of study would do that? It is like a study designed to measure how many people have a soul; Absurd. " Do you feel bad when you do bad things check yes, or no" . . . The study that she quotes, which is from 1988, does not seem to exist. At least I couldn't find it. Even if I had, I wouldn't have put any stock in it. But even if I had, any grown up will tell you that a conscience doesn't stop anyone from doing anything. All it does is make them feel bad afterwards. Some of the most emotional people are some of the worst out there. The fact is that out of hand emotions like jealousy, rage, love, and sadness account for a heck of a lot of violence. The author sort of glibly passes over this point. In her mind all of the people that give us trouble are sociopaths. Well, not real ones. She doesn't actually point out a single actual known sociopath, they are just people she makes up for the book. The upshot is this; That mean old man that throws stones at your dog; He is not just old, bitter, lonely, and crochetty. He is a SOCIOPATH!!! Your ex who cheated on you is not just weak willed, and not ready to commit. Yep. You got it; He is a sociopath. That kid who bullies your daughter; He is not just a little snot who is immature, and seeking attention from other kids; That's right, folks; Sociopath. Who buys into such rubbish?
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