James Silver

The difference between these people and a true psychopath is that the psychopath will have exhibited a pattern of manipulating, conning, and perhaps violence in multiple settings—not just on the campaign trail or in the rug market—in a manner that is considered antisocial in his or her culture. No thought, no weighing of moral pros and cons is involved. Psychopaths are on automatic pilot, and their moral compass is either absent or, if present, always pointing in the direction of their self-interest.

other words, perhaps the main difference between psychopaths and the rest of us is that they are not concerned about the difference between right and wrong. They know the difference; they just don’t care—their only concern is what’s “right” for them. Psychopaths target the vulnerable, steal from the unwary, and deceive the weak (or, even more to the

Bill is obviously not your average person with a few quirks. But why is he a psychopath as opposed to, say, an obnoxious guy with an anger management problem? The answer to that question lies in understanding what a psychopath is, how a psychopath is different from the rest of us, and the current measures that mental health professionals use to identify a psychopath.

What Is Psychopathy?