Psychopaths

We are afraid of psychopaths because they have no qualms about hurting other people. Discuss.

I agree with this statement. I think what makes psychopaths so scary is that they are unpredictable and it's hard to know what's going on in their mind. We are also afraid of psychopaths because they have a higher potential to cause harm because they are fearless and have no emotional attachment to others. Therefore they are capable of actions that other people are not capable of. (For example, like the man who murdered women and made furnitures with their skin). In addition, they are so difficult to detect as they are very good manipulators and have strong logic skills. For instance, a lot of criminals have psychopathic traits which means that they have a higher chance of being released from jail due to their masterful manipulation. Furthermore, psychopathy is an incurable mental illness and it is not possible to change the behaviour of psychopaths which is also a reason that makes them scary. Psychopaths are able to easily blend in with other people so we are scared of the fact that there are psychopaths around us that we are not aware of and we are also afraid to be a victim of their manipulation.

I also think that part of our fear of psychopaths comes from the way they psychopaths are always portrayed as violent in movies and media. It's true that psychopaths can easily become violent due to their lack of empathy for others, but most psychopaths don't act violent for no reason. As discussed in class, it's important to note that not everyone with psychopathic traits is a criminal or a violent person.