Are psychopaths necessarily bad people?

A psychopath is a person who has no empathy and feels no remorse for causing bad things to happen. So some people would certainly say they're bad people. But a bad person is someone who does bad things. Not someone who COULD do bad things or who thinks about them, but someone who actually does them. A lot of empathetic people who feel remorse have done bad things. And they're not exempt from the bad person label, are they? If you hurt someone, it doesn't really matter whether you cry about it afterwards- you hurt them. So if I felt no remorse or empathy but I was a productive member of society who never hurt anyone, would I be a bad person? I don't think so. The point is, the majority of psychopaths are not Ted Bundy. They're not going to kill you, and while they might freak you out or annoy you, they're essentially decent, normal people. Fear empathetic people just as much as those without empathy.

There is a general misconception that psychopaths are mindless freaks, courtesy the Hollywood. To clarify that we need to bring one more personality type: sociopath. The difference between these 2 personality types should bring about some clarity in the outlook towards them. Psychopaths are generally born i.e. it is mostly genetic. Research has shown psychopaths have underdeveloped components of the brain responsible for emotion regulation and impulse control whereas a sociopath is born as a result of his environment, such as emotional and physical abuse, negative household to name a few. Psychopaths do not feel emotions the way a normal person does. They do not think with the heart. To them everything is logic and causality. This leads them to have a hard time forming emotional attachments. But psychopaths can often be seen as charming and trustworthy, holding steady, normal jobs. Some even have seemingly-loving relationships with a partner. Sociopaths, on the other hand, tend to be more impulsive and erratic in their acts. They too find it hard to deal with attachment. Unlike psychopaths, most sociopaths can't hold down long-term jobs or a normal life. These should give a better picture regarding psychopaths and sociopaths. To answer the question from my personal experience, psychopaths are not always bad. They can't understand what normal people see as a relationship. To them everything and everyone is a means to their goal. Emotions do not play a role in their thoughts.

They are not, they are just going through worst of times and its not their fault. Life make them that way and they may get better with love and affection

No, psychopaths are not necessarily bad people. A psychopath can still make a positive contribution to society. They can make good surgeons, doctors, lawyers, judges, and CEO's. Their objectivity can be beneficial to both them and society.

A Psychopath is someone who displays anti social behaviour and lacks strong feelings I.e. Guilt or remorse. But this does not make them a bad person - being different from people doesn't make you bad. It is only when a psychopath hurts someone, that they can be considered bad.

I googled psychopath and it says: a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviour. I think not necessarily a psychopath may be bad, but it is difficult to judge whether someone is bad anyway. Do we judge based on their actions? Their motives? What made them that way? At any rate, I would say no psychopaths are not necessarily bad people.

Psychopaths are not necessarily bad people. Its how they use their skills that make them good or bad

No, psychopaths have their brain "wired" a bit different than most people. That doesn't mean they are all bad or mean people, but due to their condition it's better if they have a support system with them to learn how to control different sensations they get that are not ordinary for the rest. What makes you good or bad are the choices and actions you make.

Definitely not! I was diagnosed with psychopathy when I was 10 years old, and though I can't really say about myself, I don't think of myself as a bad person. I do everything I can to help others, and I'm studying child developmental psychology for my future profession. In a support group I hosted, I met others with the condition, and yes, there's always going to be a few bad apples, but being a bad person doesn't really have to do with being a psychopath. We tend to see psychopathy in criminals, and we view it as a negative or dangerous illness, but trust me, you've walked by many regular, good people with psychopathy and not even known it. Psychopathy is a very misunderstood mental disorder, and I hope society someday breaks the stigma.

As a Criminal Justice and Criminology major, no, psychopaths are not necessarily bad people. Psychopaths have been going through many tests under the CJC system and psychology, and it's been seen that their brains are wired differently than what we consider a 'normal' person's brain. What this means is their emotions work differently. For example, a psychopath cannot "feel" love, but they know what it looks like - and therefore they can make it appear in their voices, facial expressions and body language. The statistic is about 1/100 people is a psychopath. While that number seems small, we are in a world with them in our every day lives. Another example is they're very charming, so they'll most likely become a CEO for a bank or large industry. What someone is diagnosed with doesn't determine if they're a bad person or not -- their behavior will show the real character. It's important to keep in mind when talking about psychopaths that they're also people - people need the benefit of the doubt first. It's also important to know that not all psychopaths end up in the Criminal Justice System, meaning that each individual is a case by case.

I wouldn't say that! They probably have a chemical imbalance in their brain. making it hard to control their urges or thoughts. Anyone can be helped if they want to be, and I think that's what most people forget. We tend to put a stigma around psychopaths, even though most of them literally cannot help themselves at the time.

This question implies that people who are not psychopaths are 'good.' People are not as clear as 'good' and 'bad.' We are all good people and we are all bad people, and that's okay as long as we are always trying to grow and be better. Having said that, while psychopaths are not necessarily bad people, their actions or reactions may have a 'bad' or uncomfortable effect on the world around them while untreated, depending on what kind of psychosis is being discussed. Always communicate your state of well-being to those around you and seek options.

Yes, they are by definition. They do not have a conscience. They do not experience real emotions. They are like a stranger in a strange land.

No, but they definitely need help! No one is inherently bad but people can make bad decisions and choices

Psychopaths are people challenged by mental health. They need help as they can't control their thoughts and these can be harmful to you and them. Please be aware.

Psychopaths do not have a regard for other people, this is synonymous with antisocial personality disorder. They aren't necessarily bad people, but due to their psychopathological illness, they do not have the moral conscience of you to interact with individuals and what is hurtful to others. These traits of theirs lead them to be perceived as bad.

Not at all. Being a "psychopath" just means having a psychopathic disorder and I don't really like the word because it makes it seem like those people were different but they are just some normal human beings like you and me. Don't we all have our issues? And surely they don't make us all bad people. I think the reason for that kinda rumor is that there are some psychopathic disorders which make it unable for the person to really empathize with others but this is not their fault so it does't make them a bad person. They just don't have the ability to do something that most people can do but if this would mean they were bad people then blind or disabled people would be bad as well and that is surely not the case. Yes we have heard of horrible crimes commited by people who they said were psychopaths but we have to see that this is just a very small part of affected ones who actually do something like that. After all every case is different and I think it's never alone the disease that would make them do these things but also other circumstances. We can't say everyone who has cancer is sentenced to death because if someone would survive this or not depends on so many things and that's the same with "psychopaths" doing bad things. But most important is to see that it's just a disease for what you can't blame someone.

No, not at all. People with psychopathy can be good, and they can also go to therapy, to heal and recover over time. I personally know and am friends with people that struggle with psychopathy. Some may be bad, and some may be good, but is that not the case with most people anyway (mentally ill or not)? As long as one strives to not harm others and does their best to control their urges, then to me, they are generally good people. Unfortunately, stigma can be extremely harmful and reinforce inaccurate stereotypes, but we must strive to go beyond those and actually try to understand the people involved.

No, I believe they are just scared and insecure about the changes happening in their life...like all of us but they can't accept reality as it is too difficult and they bore a lot of pain...or maybe it's their mind playing tricks on them...who knows...

Not necessarily. Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by boldness, lack of empathy and impulsiveness. Although psychopaths do not always become violent - especially if professional help is ensued -, there is definitely a higher chance of violence to occur than in a person that doesn't suffer from the disorder. Psychopaths rarely feel remorse or guilt, since they lack empathy, they are not afraid of risky situations and hardly abide social norms (they are antisocial). There is an interesting talk from Discovery Channel that says that heroes and villains in stories/movies share a great deal of the same three main characteristics; both are bold, out of the norm figures, they are defined by a lack of personal empathy (putting the greater good or the greater evil above everything else) and are uninhibited by social norms. So, there you go; psychopaths are not necessarily 'bad' people.

Assuming that the psychopathy is actually a medical condition and not just a label that someone stuck on them, I don't think that psychopaths are necessary bad. If one does not have the mental capacity to empathize, how can I blame them for being selfish or mean? They literally have no way of differentiating their good behavior from harmful behavior. Humans by nature are designed to value self-preservation above all, but we are also designed as social creatures who must give up some of our desires in order to live in harmony with the rest of the human race. As far as I can tell (as someone who is not a medical professional), a psychopath is someone with a disorder that impairs or prevents their ability to understand the social aspect of living. Now, personally, I don't think I would be able to become friends with a psychopath, purely due to the two-sided nature of friendship. And I do still believe that their bad behavior is bad. I just have a problem putting the blame on the psychopath when they are physically incapable of acting in the way a normal human should.

I don't think being a psychopath makes someone a bad person. Psychopathy is considered a personality disorder. Having a disorder is not intentional, and never makes someone inherently "bad". People who are diagnosed psychopaths need more help and treatment than the average person, yet people shy away and do not want to offer them help. The social stigma surrounding psychopaths is what worries people and makes them associate a psychopath with being a bad person. Many times people with personality disorders struggle a lot due to their disorders, and being rejected by society only makes this worse and their struggles harder to overcome.

Necessarily maybe not they might just have a lot of anger and feelings built up inside them. They might jus think want help but don't know how to show it

Psychopaths are not necessarily bad people, they are just people born with a mental illness. I think it's important to be aware of these mental illnesses.

Not at all. People with psychopathic tendencies are often misunderstood. With the proper treatment they can be happy, functioning members of society.

Of course not! The thing with being a bad person all depends on how other people perceive you. If others think you are nice , then you are :) if people think you aren't, well that is upsetting :( but it doesn't have to be that way; you can change it and its not your fault at all. Personally, I'm autistic and I have great difficulty understanding others :(. I thought I was a bad person too, all it was is I didn't understand how everyone else thinks, but I made it my mission to understand people. It takes time to do this and its a process you may have to go through, or maybe you already have and you're just around the wrong people. After all, if youre willing to understand someone but they aren't willing to understand you then that isn't a healthy relationship. Being a psychopath does not define you as a person at all, just like being autistic doesn't make me weird or a freak or any other stereotypes.

No, I think that psychopaths are misunderstood individuals that also have a difficult time understanding themselves. I think that therapist have a harder time treating them due to the stigma both the patient and clinician face from society. I believe that society makes psychopaths look like bad individuals, but there are some that have the ability to lead healthy and socially acceptable lives. Psychopathic tendencies do not all present themselves the same way across the board, some individuals present their tendencies more intensely than others and heavily suffer, but don't act on their impulses. A majority of their things that they lack, can be learned or managed with proper treatment.

Not at all - psychopaths can't help being the way they are, a lot of very wealthy business people or successful people are psychopaths - psychopaths simply lack empathy but it doesn't mean they'll go out of their way to intentionally cause harm.

Not all psychopaths are bad people, and not all bad people are psychopaths. Most are very kind people, that just lack empathy, but that doesn't make them bad people.

You'll have to ask a psychiatrist this question. The psychiatrist will be able to answer this question for you.