Whats the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?
There is no completely agreed-upon difference between those two terms, but there are people who in their own studies will make a distinction. I tend to use them synonymously, and for the book I settled on “sociopathy.” People confuse “psychopathy” with “psychotic” — someone who is crazy and has hallucinations. That’s not what we’re talking about, so I think “sociopath” is clearer. What does it mean to lack a conscience? It’s a completely alien mindset. Most of us can imagine what it’s like to have depression or even be crazy. But not having a conscience? You can’t love anyone, even your own children? I believe that conscience, or lack of it, is a much more fundamental distinction than our moods or sense of rationality. All of us can be a little irrational. But our capacity to be emotionally linked to other people is much more fundamental, so much so that we don’t even think about it. You don’t ask yourself if you’re going to give your child lunch money. You don’t think of that as maki
