EVOLUTIONARY BENEFITS OF PSYCHOPATHY

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Psychopath Podcast, a podcast that discusses everything
about psychopathy. Here's your host, Doctor Carlos.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Unlock the secrets of your soul with the new book
The Soul's Odyssey written by doctor Carlos. This transformative book
lends mythology, psychology, and epic tales like Dante's Inferno to
guide you to know yourself better discover practical tools for
healing and growth. Perfect for clinicians, clients, for anyone seeking
a deeper connection with their inner workings. What does evolutions

(01:06):
say about psychopathy? Well, as we know, psychopathy is characterized
by traits like fearlessness, manipulativeness, and emotional detachments. Yet from
an evolutionary perspective, is it viewed as a pathology? Is
it's something that's not adaptive. Well, let's take a look
and see what happens. Psychopathy is associated with anti social
behavior and it's underlying characteristics likely provided survival and reproductive

(01:30):
benefits and ancestral environments. According to evolutionary psychology and biology
and evolutionary biology, traits persist if they enhance fitness, which
is another way of saying survival and reproduction. Psychopathy's hallmark fearlessness,
for instance, would have been a boon in higher risk scenarios.
I remember, folks, psychopaths are fearless but not brave. Early

(01:52):
humans face predators, rival tribes, and environmental hazards. A psychopaths
low anxiety and bold decision making could have enabled them
to lead us defined territories or take risks others shied
away from, such as exploring new lands. This courage, even
if self serving, often benefited benefited group survival studies suggest

(02:13):
psychopathic traites correlate with dominance and social hierarchies, a key
factor in accessing food, mates, and status and ancestral groups. Manipulativeness,
another core trade, offered a social edge in these small,
tight knit communities. The ability to charm, to see, or
coarse others could secure alliances, resources, or protection without any

(02:34):
direct conflict. Psychopaths excel at reading social cues or a
high level of emotional intelligence. This is known as not
evid empathy, but as a tool for exploitation. Not out
of empathy, but as a tool for exploitation. This Macaveelian
intelligence likely allowed them to navigate complex tribal dynamics. I'm

(02:54):
maneuving rivals for leadership or favor. Evolutionary psychologists argue that
such stratig social skills, even if ethically dubious, increased in
individual's influence in reproductive success. Emotional detachment, while socially disruptive,
also had advantages in harsh environments where death and loss
were common. To lack of emotional burden enabled quick and
pragmatic decisions. Let me give you an example. A psychopathic

(03:18):
leader might prioritize groups survival over morning, allocating resources efficiently
during crisis like famines or wars. This cold rationality could
also make them effective and violent encounters, as their lack
of remorse or hesitation gave them an edge in combat.
Research indicates psychopaths show are reduced amignal activity linked to
fear and empathy, which may have freed cognitive resources for

(03:39):
other types of survival focused tasks. What about reproductively well
it Psychopathy's charm and risk taking likely attracted mates. They
also tend to be charismatic and confident, traits a signal
genetic fitness. Their promiscuity and willingness to pursue multiple partners
would have maximized offspring and ancestral settings, even if they

(04:00):
invested little in parenting with fast life history strategy prioritizing
quantity over quality, thrived and unstable environments were long term
bonds reviable. However, all of psychopathy's advantages in the evolutionary
sense come with trade offs. Its antisocial tendencies could destabilize
groups and even invite retaliation and nostraticism. Evolution likely balance

(04:23):
these traits, keeping psychopathy rare but persistent. As a frequency
dependent strategy. You can say where it thrives in little doses.
Today's psychopathic traits are seen in leaders and entrepreneurs and
criminals and so forth. Everybody, well not everybody, but in
a lot of groups. We see these. Some of these
traits especially like the charming and the manipulative, which makes
it that a strong, strong, valid diagnosis either in essence,

(04:47):
psychopathy's evolutionary edge lies and its blendness of boldness, cutting,
and emotional resilience. While modern society often condemns these traits
that reflect the complex adaptation that help shape human resilience.
So it's an interesting look at psychopathy as we look
at it through the lens of evolutionary psychology and biology.

(05:10):
It's kind of fascinating to see how would it work?
We know the origin or the ideology of psychopathy is
usually a difficult childhood Bob, more than likely associated with
child abuse of some sort which could have happened. And
you know, if you're looking at thousands of years ago,
I'm sure it would as well back then. It's an

(05:31):
interesting concept.