[book] The Sociopath Next Door, Martha Stout (10/10)

[Isle of View]

The Sociopath Next Door  by Martha Stout

This is a very interesting book about sociopathy, psychopathy and narcisism. And also about conscience and love and how all of it plays together.

Highly educational.

With lots of stories to shed some light on different aspects of sociopathy and what is best to do if you are connected to individuals with these tendencies.

What is interesting about Martha Stout is that she says that in the western world, sociopathy is more widespread than in countries of the east.

And she gives good insight about the reasons why it is so.

 

Here are some fair use quotes from the book:

 

Quote

“A part of a healthy conscience is being able to confront consciencelessness. When you teach your daughter, explicitly or by passive rejection, that she must ignore her outrage, that she must be kind and accepting to the point of not defending herself or other people, that she must not rock the boat for any reason, you are NOT strengthening her prosocial sense, you are damaging it--and the first person she will stop protecting is herself.” 
― Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door

 

Quote

“Sociopathy is the inability to process emotional experience, including love and caring, except when such experience can be calculated as a coldly intellectual task.” 
― Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door

 

Quote

“Sociopaths have no regard whatsoever for the social contract, but they do know how to use it to their advantage. And all in all, I am sure that if the devil existed, he would want us to feel very sorry for him.” 
― Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door

 

Quote

“And sociopaths are noted especially for their shallowness of emotion, the hollow and transient nature of any affectionate feelings they may claim to have, a certain breathtaking callousness. They have no trace of empathy and no genuine interest in bonding emotionally with a mate. Once the surface charm is scraped off, their marriages are loveless, one-sided, and almost always short-term. If a marriage partner has any value to the sociopath, it is because the partner is viewed as a possession, one that the sociopath may feel angry to lose, but never sad or accountable.” 
― Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door

 

Quote

“when confronted with a destructive outcome that is clearly their doing, they will say, plain and simple, “I never did that,” and will to all appearances believe their own direct lie.” 
― Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door

 

You can buy it on Amazon or your local book store.

Having knowledge from this book may be crucial for your personal development.

 

Kind regards, 
Chris

Edited April 9, 2016 by Isle of View

[Isle of View]

Some more fair use quotes from this book.

(I can't overemphasize the importance of this knowledge for your personal development.)

 

Quote

“If, instead, you find yourself often pitying someone who consistently hurts you or other people, and who actively campaigns for your sympathy, the chances are close to 100 percent that you are dealing with a sociopath.” 

“Rather, the best clue is, of all things, the pity play. The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed, as one might imagine, at our fearfulness. It is, perversely, an appeal to our sympathy.” 

“About one in twenty-five individuals are sociopathic, meaning, essentially, that they do not have a conscience. It is not that this group fails to grasp the difference between good and bad; it is that the distinction fails to limit their behavior. The intellectual difference between right and wrong does not bring on the emotional sirens and flashing blue lights, or the fear of God, that it does for the rest of us. Without the slightest blip of guilt or remorse, one in twenty-five people can do anything at all.” 
― Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door

 

~Chris

[Key Elements]

On 09/04/2016 at 7:36 PM, Isle of View said:

What is interesting about Martha Stout is that she says that in the western world, sociopathy is more widespread than in countries of the east.

This sounds iffy to me. I wonder what she means by this. How long has she stayed in the east and which country? How did she study this?

[askdfjnak]

On 10/04/2016 at 2:00 AM, Isle of View said:

It is not that this group fails to grasp the difference between good and bad; it is that the distinction fails to limit their behavior. The intellectual difference between right and wrong does not bring on the emotional sirens and flashing blue lights, or the fear of God, that it does for the rest of us.

 

Interesting quotes. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. As my own awareness has raised so has my sense of responsibility. I am frightened by how inept we are as a species in executing our so-called values and higher selves. I would categorize having a conscience with this same line of thought.

I don’t think having a conscience does much to limit most people’s behavior. In fact, most people don’t even realize why they believe in what they believe or why they have come to believe some actions are good and some are bad.

I like this experiment. It shows that about 65% of ordinary people can kill another human being with little in the way of conscience stopping them. About 85% are capable of inflicting incredible amounts of pain to another.

The problem isn’t a lack of conscience, it’s a lack of consciousness. This is the root of humanities current problems, both on an individual and global level. The damages caused by sociopaths are negligible compared to the atrocities ordinary people can commit under the right circumstances.

https://vimeo.com/89396290