I’ve been struggling to read this book off and on for
the past six months. After reading a little more than half of it I’ve decided
that there is no point in finishing it. The author bases nearly all of his
arguments and studies on an arbitrary definition of psychopaths called the PPI
or PCL-R (Psychopath Personality Inventory, and Psychopathy Checklist-Revised,
respectively, each consisting of about 20 questions with assigned point values
that define a person’s level of “psychopathology”). These defining instruments
are no more substantial than the checklists and questionnaires once used to
define (and consequently prosecute) witches. In fact, if you analyze the nature
of the questions it becomes evident that they really are precisely the same as
those used to define witches. The questions focus on socially abnormal
behavior, and unusual emotional responses, just as the witch trials did.
But, a real scientist (or any serious thinking person
for that matter) knows that any arbitrarily defined group (witches, psychopaths,
criminals, etc.) that you can think of will exhibit unique traits. So it is a
logical error (and hence, scientific error, or just plain un-scientific) to
support an arbitrary definition with the unique traits that the defined group
exhibits. The witch hunters, slave owners, racial supremists, and religious
persecutors have all exploited this error of reason to promote their
prejudicial views. This book, and all the “psychopath” books like it are no
different.
