But statistically speaking, approximately four percent-about 64 people-on this campus are capable of doing the following things without so much as flinching: sneaking into your room and vandalizing your computer for the fun of it, capturing and stabbing squirrels around our campus simply to watch the little animals die, sending your professor an anonymous note with false information that you've cheated on a take-home test, mixing drugs in your drink to erase your memory of that person raping you. Indeed, if they are certain that they will not be caught, they will kill you without any hesitation or the slightest guilt.
As disturbing as this is, it's scientifically true, says Martha Stout in her new book "The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us." Stout, a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, says that as many as four percent-that's one out of every 25 people-of the whole population is sociopathic. Sociopathy, sometimes called antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy or moral insanity, is a condition of missing conscience. It is characterized by deceitful manipulativeness, remorselessness and lack of regard for persons or animals. In her book, Stout elaborates on the tales of ruthlessness in everyday life based on her 25 years of practice as a specialist in the treatment of psychological trauma survivors. Stout suggests that in the course of our lives we've probably met-or worse, been hurt by-one of these conscienceless people already, without even knowing that his or her mind and heart operate on a totally unconscionable system.
Stout does a good job of convincing us of the existence of people who are completely free of guilt, attachment and sympathy and love living amongst us. When we read that the rate of sociopaths is much higher than that of schizophrenia (one percent), or even the so popularly-known and problematized disorder known as anorexia (3.43 percent), it is hard not to shiver and wonder how many people we have met in our lives who are completely without any concept of morality, who can do anything at all without a moment of hesitation or guilt.
The chilling truth that Stout emphasizes time and again is that while many sociopaths end up in jail, most are out and about in our very communities, disguising their complete lack of morality-or shall we say, humanity-while posing as our neighbors, doctors, classmates or even friends or lovers.
It is upsetting to hear the tale of Hannah who, after 20 years of being her father's trophy daughter, realizes that he, a respected principal at the local high school, is a serial killer involved in the heroin business who can talk about his crimes with remorseless glee. In this particular case, Hannah's father is a sociopath who desires a comfortable, well-regarded lifestyle, but who nevertheless constantly seeks risky excitements, as shown by his dual life. He only maintains his respected status in the community because unlike some other sociopaths, he loves being recognized and praised for his attractive wife, intelligent daughter and social status.
The selfish, loveless relationship he has with his family appears subtly; he ignores Hannah when she gets a huge zit on her nose or does not get an A on a test. Some other sociopaths are driven by the desire to simply ruin others' lives, to enjoy life without working or to conquer the business world. Sociopaths are everywhere, constantly motivated by their desire to "win" whatever malicious game they're playing.
Stout's writing is extremely easy to read. This book is never pompous and uses little psychological jargon. Moreover, Stout contemplates issues that are not necessarily psychological so much as philosophical, such as the virtue of conscience and the relationship between science and morality. She claims that "conscience blesses our individual lives with ... meaning every day."
Throughout the book the theme of good versus evil (the ordinary versus the ruthless) invokes powerful emotions from us, sometimes indignancy and sometimes fear, as if we were reading a gripping thriller or mystery novel. In fact, Stout does recognize that even among people of conscience, there are varying degrees and standards of conscience that propel some of us to behave in exactly the same way as the conscienceless might.
Stout's message that we should be cautious should be well taken by all of us. Reading "The Sociopath Next Door" is an entertaining, informative experience. The book contains 13 helpful tips for recognizing and dealing with sociopaths in our everyday lives. The tips are surprisingly simple but not necessarily obvious. If you're not going to read the book, at least look up these tips. There may be 64 people at the College who are capable of ruining your life with a complete lack of guilt or hesitation.