Hey D.

Hope, you are well. I thought it's time to comment on your article. When I read your works I often get triggered to think about them. You present the dark sides of us humans.

I would think good advice, just as you suggest, would be to know oneself well so that one is not blind to illusions and manipulations by other people.

Basically, everyone can and does develop extremely psychopathic traits. People have their moments of deliberately chosen ignorance of the feelings of others. They influence intentionally and willfully, they violate moral or ethical rules. I think it is fascinating why we are all so interested in an extreme, because I would actually say that the psychopathic does not depend so much on what it is, but rather on the frequency of offenses or violations of human ethical principles. Where one violates the dignity of another, for example.

If I take a normal day, I would think that I act seventy to eighty percent without any special incidents. The remaining twenty to thirty percent can be unforeseen events that may throw me off track, mess up my schedule, involve unwanted mail, unfriendly public encounters, a fight with a friend, or a very busy phone call.

But still: my remaining day consists of routine and neutral to positive encounters. After all, things run smoothly: the bus leaves at the usual time, the people sell me a fresh roll, I get a seat on the train, the road is clean, the colleagues show up for work, they even work with me, we cooperate with each other and complete our tasks, we gather in meetings, I laugh about a joke with colleagues in the hallway, there are no carambolages on the road, etc., etc., etc. - I come to the reason why I mention this in short.

Why I find the term psycho-path interesting and very well chosen - perhaps this is the reason for the fascination - is the literal taking of the word: the path of the psyche. Well, someone is very caught in his head. He splits, he separates every word, he goes through encounters, dialogues, he creates worlds and events in his mind, his psyche is constantly occupied with something and the main occupation is thinking. Brain activity by the meter.

Em-Path is also on his way. He walks with the feelings of his fellow men.

Each of us has what it takes to become a psychopath. That is, when I put too much emphasize on the 20-30% of the things which do not run smooth.

One only has to remember particularly excited states in which one was in a conflict, yes in an argument with someone who meant a lot to one. A separation threatens and with it all consequences. How quickly we then get into a mental hell and how often we cannot really accept the conflict calmly and work on it, that happens when we find the other guilty that there is a conflict at all. The Internet is full of diagnoses and we are very fast - one, two, three - suddenly victims (!) of other people.

Once in the mentality of a victim (i.e. only in the space of one's own thoughts), we can distance ourselves from the fact that we cannot have any narcissistic, psychopathic or other disturbing mental states.

In fact, even when we become so upset, excited and anxious, we can produce the worst in another person and influence him by starting to think so badly and one-dimensionally about him and starting to talk badly about him and denounce him to friends. Those who remain calm and are not disturbed by a person's despair and distrust may call themselves good friends.

I don't like it that much when someone claims to have "studied psychopaths" for so and so many years. It sounds as if such a person is frozen in time and space, glued to the diagnose and nothing changes - which then might be the self fulfilling prophecy - when you are constantly judged by the environment its likely that you eventually pick on this notion on you... . I know you took a shortened description, but I wanted to point out, how we use language as "fixed".

What I want to say: Each one of us has the potential to become a psychopath. There is also the potential in each of us to be a balanced person who knows himself well. The effects that people have on each other and the systems in which they move alternate.

It is therefore important how well I know myself and how freely I decide how I want to meet the situations in my life. The better I decide according to the situation - know myself better - the less I will have the feeling that someone wants to influence me, deceive me or cheat me, throw me out of rank etc. The better, friendlier I will be. All the better, friendlier, more open and encouraging will I be with my fellow men and not suspect them of competition, envy or other intentions damaging me.

Got long, again:) LOL, not unusual.