Crime: Murder, Rape, Abuse, Genocide...
We assoicate these with an evil beyond understanding.
Yet, how should these be classified? Are these people going through psychological distress?
Is there a true difference between "evilness" and psychological disorder?
2007-02-16 08:22:04 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Mental Health
The link is not exact or direct, but there is a
psychological concept called "Sociopathy" which
basically means you don't care how you hurt
others.
The thing is, you can also end up being a criminal
because, in the environment you live in,
it is what your closed view of society tells
you is the right thing to do. Not all criminals
got there because they were insane - some
got there because the society around them
was insane.
If you want to label "sociopathological" behavior
as "evil", go right ahead, but it doesn't help
the situation in any way other than to give you
someone to hate.
We look at the concepts of knowing right
from wrong as being binary: Either you do
or you don't. However, anyone who has
ever starved outside of a mall knows that
isn't true.
Personally, I don't think retribution is
useful. I think that the penal system should:
1: Protect society from the criminal
2: Protect the criminal from society
3: Rehabilitate the criminal
However, in the US we generally stress
#4 above all others: 4: Make the victims
feel better (i.e. controlled retribution).
If someone murdered my family, but I knew
that if they just had a particular operation,
they would never commit crimes again
but would otherwise be a safe and sane
member of society, I'd like to think that
I would want them to have the operation
and be done with it.
However, anger and dispair cry out for
retribution - not sanity.
2007-02-16 08:24:35 · answer #1 · answered by Elana 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not all"criminals" are evil. Not all "criminals" are really criminals. Give me a break here. Yes rape, murder, genocide...these are evil acts, and some of these people if not all have something mentally wrong with them. But, look at the majority of people in prison, they are not any of these things. They are in there for robbery, and drugs, and burglary, and money laundering etc. You think these people are evil??? no. sorry. This country has no system to turn these peoples lives around. We cage them up and expect them to come out better??? I understand there has to be some sort of punishment for crimes...but we put someone who is 17 and robbed a cab driver in the same place we put a man who has killed his entire family and treat them the same way?! We categorize every person in jail the same way ands its sick. People commit crimes for many reasons, selfishness, economic problems, psychological problems, pure stupidity...everyone of us has done something "illegal" and never gotten caught.. are we all crazy? are we all evil? Give me a break...
2007-02-16 19:38:07 · answer #2 · answered by Tina B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hello "Tell me Why". What an interesting question?....I think not all criminals have psychological disorder, some of them have. The later are not evil people but people with problems. Once I saw a TV program called "The brain of a killer" it explained how the brain in criminals work. Last year I started having weird thoughts that suddenly came into my mind. They were really strong thoughts of killing myself and cutting others (for example babies). I got so scared so I went to a psychiatrist. He diagnosed me with depression and anxiety. It was the first time I understood criminals and became aware that some of them are not evil but people with illnesses. Argentox2@yahoo.com
2007-02-16 17:02:28 · answer #3 · answered by Lisa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Supposedly, if you could see things as they seem them, live the life they've led, their behavior would all make sense. It's probably rarely a psychological disorder, but rather a very logical response to the world as they see and experience it. With some people, they literally and physically have no conscience: that part of their brain just doesn't work, either through injury or birth defect, so they act purely on impulse, with no thought of consequences, to themselves or anyone else.
2007-02-16 17:23:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. It's incredibly rare that people take action with the sole intention of evil. Usually there is something they hope to gain from their crime. In some cases, yes- serial killers and rapists are deeply disturbed individuals, often with myriad psychosis and neurosis mixed up. Other times, they're the victims of misinformation or poor logic, and believe that they are actually doing what's right.
2007-02-16 16:26:43 · answer #5 · answered by Beardog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Criminals that have psychological disorders are sick and twisted. Criminals that don't are just sad excuses for humans and should be treated as the animals they are.
2007-02-16 16:30:17 · answer #6 · answered by Saintschamp10 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The ones you listed probably do. But minor crimes like petty theft, some of them did it as a juvenile thrill and a lot of them realize that they made an idiot mistake.
2007-02-16 16:28:40 · answer #7 · answered by tkron31 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, not all. Psychological disorders can affect good guys too.
2007-02-16 16:47:08 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some of them are truly mentally ill but not all of them. Some are just evil.
2007-02-16 16:26:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, antisocial behaviour.
2007-02-16 16:47:33 · answer #10 · answered by healing wings 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋