Summary
Psychopaths are developmentally different from "normal" people. According to Robert Hare they are "intraspecies predators who use charm, manipulation, intimidation and violence to control others and to satisfy their own selfish needs. Lacking in
conscience and in feelings for others, they take what they want and do
as they please, violating social norms and expectations without guilt or remorse. "
While there's debate on the whole nature/nurture cause, my take is that it appears to be genetic, and there seems to be no therapeutic "cure." From what I've read, about 2% of men and 0.5% of women could fit the criteria of a psychopath.
To guard against them, judge people based on their deeds (especially how they treat others) rather than their words. Psychopaths wear a "mask of sanity" and specialize in fooling people and manipulating them. God help you if you're a needy person. Psychopaths seem to find them more entertaining. One of their motivations seems to be the entertainment derived from manipulating people. Think of a bored child poking at an anthill. Or a cat tormenting a mouse. Needy people put up with a lot more crap and provide much more entertainment.
If you've identified a psychopath in your life, cut off all contact. Anything you say or do in reaction to them is playing into their game of manipulating you. Since they're motivated by self-interest, you might think it helps to have leverage that could damage their self-interest. For example, collecting proof of criminal behavior to law enforcement or perhaps collecting evidence of financial shenanigans that may be of interest to the IRS. But they also tend to not feel fear, nor have any desired future plans, nor respond much to punishment. If you actually use it, then you'll have to worry about retaliation from them in the future. So... have no contact and keep scorched earth retaliation capabilities in reserve.
Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not sinful---just stupid.) --Lazarus Long aka R.A. Heinlein
Can anything be done about these predators in our midst? From their standpoint, there's nothing wrong with them. From our standpoint, while we can certainly punish criminal behavior, but what do you do with someone who shows all the traits of a psychopath but doesn't commit any crimes? Is causing emotional devastation a crime? We've all hurt others emotionally... where do you draw the line? I imagine in a tribal society, a psychopath would either kill the chief and take over, or else be killed by the chief or else shunned. But in our modern world, a psychopath can hop from location to location and leave their reputation behind. And know that most victims would rather just "move on" rather than commit a violent crime that could get them locked up.
