Psychopathy Research Paper

Today, psychopathy has become an overused term which many mistake for psychosis or mental derangement. While psychopathy is similar to psychosis because it is a mental illness, its properties are vastly different. The current confusion over the origins and properties of psychopathy have been debated since the 18th century, with authors like Robert Smith claiming that psychopathy has been described through history as constitutional weakness, psychodynamic insufficiency, problems-in-living, and inauthenticity (1). Many of the early interpretations of psychopathy have been inaccurate, like the correction that psychopaths are psychodynamically inferior rather than constitutionally inferior (Smith 7). However, the early theorists and physicians
Since it was thought to be a “religious failing,” the solution often involved religious exercises like exorcism and prayer (Smith 6). Even though a focus on morality continued into the 19th century, its treatment detached from religious roots with the introduction of the Pinel movement. French physician Philipe Pinel claimed that psychopathy was a moral insanity “alone in the state of feelings,” which required a moral therapy to fix (Smith 5). A psychopath exhibiting a lack of morality is evident in Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in the film The Dark Knight (2008). While in custody, the Joker tricks Batman by forcing him to decide between saving an important prosecutor and his lover. After Batman beats Joker in a rage, Joker responds by stating that “you have nothing to threaten me with.” In this scene, Joker exhibits an example of Pinel’s moral insanity in designing this plan, since he does not care who is affected. Additionally, Joker exhibits how he is “alone in the state of feelings” because he does not feel any emotion or guilt during the beatdown from the Batman. In essence, while the strict focus on morality did not cover the currently understood complexity of psychopathy, it was significant in developing morality as an important
This school of thought applies Freud’s concept of the superego to psychopathy, identifying the illness as a “moral deviance, a failure in the personality structure” (Smith 9). Authors like Buss identify psychopathy as a psychodynamic inferiority, applying the superego to various family relations like the middle class psychopath, the destructive psychopath, and the impersonator (Smith 10). In application to Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the Joker in the film Batman (1989), some of the family relations outlined by Buss identify Joker as a psychopath. For example, after Jack becomes the Joker, he exhibits qualities of the impersonator psychopath due to his “failure to achieve identification” (Smith 10). In the scene where Joker kills Grisson, he presents a lack of identity by claiming that “Jack is dead,” refusing to adopt his former identity. As the Joker, Jack adopts the appearance of a clown, a character who can be interpreted as both transgressive and carnivalesque. In addition, with actions like mass murder, Nicholson’s Joker represents the destructive psychopath who “vents hostility on all who pass his way” (Smith