Psychopathy and Human Evil: An Overview

Abstract

The term “psychopath” usually conjures images of serial killers or acts of genocide. Less frequently considered are those who are intelligent enough to avoid detection by the criminal justice system while hiding in the boardrooms of corporations or lurking in the halls of government institutions. This article provides an overview of psychopathy and human evil by exploring the personality characteristics, organization, and cognitive style of the psychopath, the role of superego pathology, contributions from the field of attachment, and ways in which dissociation plays a role in psychopathy and the potential for confusing this with the dissociative structuring of the mind. The article closes with a brief discussion about “corporate” or “successful psychopaths” and how they have a negative impact on culture and society.

Keywords:

• dissociation
• superego pathology
• attachment
• Erich Fromm
• successful psychopath

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sheldon Itzkowitz

Sheldon Itzkowitz, Ph.D., ABPP is an adjunct clinical associate professor of psychology and clinical consultant, the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis; guest faculty, Eating Disorders, Compulsions, and Addictions Program, the William Alanson White Institute; on the teaching and supervisory faculty, the National Institute for the Psychotherapies program in Psychoanalysis; and the Trauma Studies Program, The Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis. He is an associate editor of Psychoanalytic Perspectives and former president of the Division of Psychoanalysis of the New York State Psychological Association. Dr. Itzkowitz has presented his work with extremely dissociated individuals both nationally and internationally. His most recent publications include, The Dissociative Mind in Psychoanalysis: Understanding and Working with Trauma, coedited with Elizabeth F. Howell. The book received the 2016 Media Award-Written by the International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation and the Author Recognition Award from NIP and nominated for the 2017 Gradiva Award. “A Dream as an Internal Enactment of Trauma: The Impact on the Analyst's Self” appears in J. Petrucelli & S. Schoen (Eds.), Unknowable, Unspeakable, and Unsprung: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Truth, Scandal, Secrets, and Lies, and “The Interpersonal-Relational Field, Countertrauma, and Counterresilience: The Impact of Treating Trauma and Dissociation” appears in R. B. Gartner (Ed.), Trauma and Countertrauma, Resilience and Counterresilience: Insights from Psychoanalysts and Trauma Experts, published by Routledge. He is in full-time private practice in New York City.