Iago Evil In Othello

Fred West describes Iago as motiveless person who is entirely unconcerned with the moral consequences of choice. His ability to switch between both truth and lies without a second thought proves that Iago is a psychopath and the society in ‘Othello’ is full of good which is why Iago’s evil stands out so vividly. West described Iago as “a character with no motives to do with either fact so logic” who “saw truth and lies as one thing” and had no problem using his own misconception to his advantage. West saw Iago as a character that displayed obvious psychopathic tendencies through his constant manipulation of others and his apparent remorseless attitude. West believes that “he sees nothing basically wrong with his own behaviour, no matter how
Without compassion he is immune from injury - he can injure others without being injured. He will not be moved by others’ pains or sufferings and he will not show mercy to the people he has hurt, as he is incapable of committing himself to others.”
After reading this article, I've come to the conclusion that Iago's actions, or perhaps lack of actions and personality traits are all consistent with that of a psychopath. He is easily triggered by the smallest of things, he is introverted, clever, and most importantly, indifferent. As Fred West mentioned, Shakespeare probably knew of the scientific developments of the psychopath and wanted to incorporate that information into his play. Because we see that Iago has the urges to manipulate and twist the true, he is such a true fit to the title given to him: a killer.
In his last paragraph he basically sums up the reasons as to why Iago can be called a psychopath; Shakespeare made Iago a person in who "fellow-feeling of any kind is extremely weak while egoism is virtually absolute...Aggressive and highly impulsive like all psychopaths...immature urge toward instant pleasure...bluff and affable...unable to form lasting bonds of affection...serves only his own ends, with no concern for their feelings...lack of remorse" (West
He perpetuates his point well with a multitide of different points.
According to Fred West, Iago is a psychopath. West says that Iago is a "complex psychopath" who "does not regard his own actions as horrendously evil" West also makes statements that Iago is "impulsive, but sees nothing basically wrong with his own behavior, no matter how erratic or antisocial.”
The definition of a psychopath is a person afflicted with a personality disorder characterized by a tendency to commit antisocial and sometimes violent acts and a failure to feel guilt for such acts (World English Dictionary). The word "antisocial" appears in the definition of a psychopath but West states that Iago does not demonstrate this quality. I believe that West does not explain in depth how Iago is truly an antisocial character nor does he convincingly explain how a psychopath can be social and have relationships as Iago does. West does state, for example, that "Iago seems always to support his general" but he does not back up these statements thoroughly enough. First, Iago is a married man who has a good enough relationship with his wife, Emilia. He is also admired by many other people and is trusted, especially by Othello. He seems to be "friends" with many people which help his plans go accordingly. This however, demonstrates social qualities, a characteristic that a psychopath usually does not have. This social aspect of Iago makes him a unique