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The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success, by Kevin Dutton
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In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of "madness" along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may wish to admit, and that a mugger in a dimly lit parking lot may well, in fact, have the same nerveless poise as a titan of industry.
Dutton argues that there are indeed "functional psychopaths" among us―different from their murderous counterparts―who use their detached, unflinching, and charismatic personalities to succeed in mainstream society, and that shockingly, in some fields, the more "psychopathic" people are, the more likely they are to succeed. Dutton deconstructs this often misunderstood diagnosis through bold on-the-ground reporting and original scientific research as he mingles with the criminally insane in a high-security ward, shares a drink with one of the world's most successful con artists, and undergoes transcranial magnetic stimulation to discover firsthand exactly how it feels to see through the eyes of a psychopath.
As Dutton develops his theory that we all possess psychopathic tendencies, he puts forward the argument that society as a whole is more psychopathic than ever: after all, psychopaths tend to be fearless, confident, charming, ruthless, and focused―qualities that are tailor-made for success in the twenty-first century. Provocative at every turn, The Wisdom of Psychopaths is a riveting adventure that reveals that it's our much-maligned dark side that often conceals the trump cards of success.
- Sales Rank: #51910 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Published on: 2013-09-03
- Released on: 2013-09-03
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.20" h x .85" w x 5.53" l, .54 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 288 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Review
“The Wisdom of Psychopaths is captivating. Dr. Dutton's book invigorated my consideration not just of a certain television character, but of slow-pulsed overachievers everywhere.” ―Michael C. Hall, actor, producer, Dexter
“A terrifically entertaining and chilling book.” ―William Georgiades, Slate
“The Wisdom of Psychopaths is an engaging and enlightening look at both the positive and negative sides of the personality characteristics that make up the diagnosis of psychopathy.” ―Michael Shermer, The Wall Street Journal
“[A] high-octane charge across the psychopathy continuum.” ―Kaja Perina, Psychology Today
“There's no denying it: we love our psychopaths….[and] in his entertaining new book…Dutton sheds some light on the stunning magnetism of the ethically challenged” ―The Daily Beast
“It's hard not to like Dutton's book . . . Dutton, like [Norman] Mailer, is waging war against the bien-pensant. And I'm with him. Life would be more fun if more people cultivated their inner psychopath.” ―Ann Marlowe, Tablet
“Dutton deftly navigates through some disturbing subject matter, but his message is ultimately upbeat: Scientists may be able to learn a lot from the darker side of human nature.” ―Allison Bohac, Science News
“A convincing study . . . The admirable quality of this book is Dutton's refusal to accept easy answers in one of the more sensational fields of popular psychology.” ―Tim Adams, The Observer (UK)
“Dutton spins a solid yarn, turning what could easily have been a dry survey of psych research into entertainment” ―Scott Olster, Fortune (CNN Money)
“The Wisdom of Psychopaths is a surprising, absorbing, and perceptive book. Kevin Dutton has amassed a great deal of knowledge about these charming, cold, fearless, emotionally indifferent people, who are so attractive in some ways and so appalling in others, and set it out in a briskly readable prose studded with gripping anecdotes. I found it altogether fascinating.” ―Philip Pullman, author of the bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy
“Dutton tackles an elusive, important, and much neglected aspect of the mind: our personality. He presents some highly original insights and does so in a provocative and humorous style―offering practical tips along the way for both ‘normals’ and ‘sociopaths'” ―V. S. Ramachandran, Ph.D., author of the bestselling The Tell-Tale Brain
“Dutton has written a masterful, readable, and entertaining treatise on psychopathy and its manifestations in everyday life. Some of his ideas will generate debate and controversy, but he clearly has provided a thought-provoking book for those seeking to understand the ‘psychopathic' world in which they live.” ―Robert D. Hare, Ph.D., author of Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us and developer of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist
“The irrepressible Kevin Dutton has done it again! This time he has produced an irreverent romp through the bright side and dark side of the mysterious psychopath, and does a great job of mixing the scientific with the personal, offering readers an insider’s glimpse into the workings of fascinating persons―and fascinating personalities. Readers will come away both enlightened and entertained.” ―Scott O. Lilienfeld, Professor of Psychology at Emory University, President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy, and coauthor of 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology
“If you’ve been keeping your inner psychopath locked up in the maximum-security unit of your mind, Kevin Dutton explains why giving him some fresh air from time to time may actually do you―and, more important, the rest of us―a world of good. Just give him this book to read and make sure he’s a literate, functional psychopath.” ―Jesse Bering, author of Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?
About the Author
Dr. Kevin Dutton is a research psychologist at the Calleva Research Centre for Evolution and Human Science, Magdalen College, University of Oxford. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy. Dutton is the author of Split-Second Persuasion. His writing and research have been featured in Scientific American Mind, New Scientist, The Guardian, Psychology Today, and USA Today. He lives in Oxford, England.
Most helpful customer reviews
396 of 435 people found the following review helpful.
Superficially persuasive
By G. P. Thomas
This is a clearly well researched and often fascinating book, but one which nevertheless rests on a whole bunch of assumptions and long bows.
Dutton takes the term psychopath and completely undermines any point to it as a diagnostic term. Once he's placed it on a 'spectrum' it enables him to talk about 'turning up and down' the dials, even turning them up on some traits associated with the psychopath (fearlessness, ruthlessness) while not on others. What if, says Dutton, we could take those traits and apply them to particular situations, like defusing a bomb, or performing difficult surgery? But this isn't the issue of psychopathy. The problem with psychopathy is precisely that it is a general callous disregard for other individuals as worthy of any consideration other than that which will serve their self interested needs. It's not something they 'turn on and turn off' as situations require. And he never makes the case that it is.
Dutton focuses on the functional psychopath to make his argument that they're not all damaging to society, but that they often perform much needed tasks. What he doesn't do is talk to the families of these so called 'functional' psychopaths. He doesn't look at the psychological havoc often spread, which while not illegal, and not landing them in jail, often has enormous ramifications for those individuals that are forced to deal with them on a day to day basis.
His treatment of the term empathy is curious to say the least, and again he stretches it to a point where it largely becomes meaningless. Far from lacking empathy, says Dutton, psychopaths have too MUCH empathy. His proof? Well look at the obvious pleasure a serial killer psychopath takes in the distress of his victim. It's also shown they're able to identify emotions in others more accurately. Interestingly enough this is exactly the same argument used by Australian serial killer Peter Haigh to explain to the court why he cannot possibly be a psychopath. Glib and superficial? You betcha. But it also misses the whole point of empathy, which isn't just to IDENTIFY another's emotional state or situation, but to IDENTIFY WITH it. In other words it's not empathy to look at someone crying and laugh because you find the distress of others amusing, it's empathy to look at someone crying and feel a similar distress.
The book is riddled with these poor attempts to stretch the meanings of terms to fit a controversial argument. And the question throughout constantly remains, why bring psychopaths into this? There's no doubt that there are times in our lives when adopting a 'care free' attitude or achieving a state of calm under pressure are useful and can greatly increase our quality of life - but then why not write a book about adopting these particular traits in particular circumstances?
The answer of course, is because plenty of those books have already been written. And they're not controversial. Dutton wants to sell books and make a name for himself and he's willing to go to the most spurious of lengths in his argument to do it.
So I await patiently Dutton's follow up book, where I presume he will show the benefits to us all of adopting some of the personality traits of the Paedophile, which will lead us all to a greater warmth and affection for children. Oh, not turning the dials all the way up of course, and not on all of their traits or in every situation, but just a little at the right time.
The biggest problem I have with this book is that it IS superficially persuasive, until you look at his arguments critically. Many people will read this book and find justification for their particular antisocial views, others may be inspired to 'try them out.' All in all the problem lies in the game theory study Dutton references, where the program TITFORTAT dominated by reflecting the behaviour of other programs. Nice when they were nice, brutal and unforgiven when they were not. Do we really want a society where the cultural norm is the attitude of the psychopath, where everyone is forced to 'get in first' because the other guy will if you don't?
I gave this two stars because the studies he referenced are really quite fascinating, but Dutton's interpretation of them is loose and his overall argument rests on shaky foundations to say the least.
135 of 149 people found the following review helpful.
Embracing the psychopath within
By Reuters Breakingviews
If you've ever thought your boss is a psychopath, you may be right, according to psychologist Kevin Dutton. And if you're a top-flight markets trader, captain of industry, surgeon or soldier, you may well be one yourself. But that's OK, says Dutton. It may even be optimal.
"The Wisdom of Psychopaths," an exploration of serial killers, monks, spies and CEOs through the prism of personality tests and neuroscience, is a good book lurking within a bad one. In this regard it perfectly reflects its theme, which is that among the dark traits which make a person psychopathic nestle behaviors and abilities that are not only necessary, but good, for individuals and society. In the seeds of evil, he proposes, wisdom may be found.
An Oxford University research psychologist, Dutton may discomfit many readers with an almost adolescent joy in mixed metaphors and grating puns, relishing the shock value of his premise as he liberally applies the term "psychopath" to all kinds of people. It may sound like he is suggesting sadistic ax-murderers or serial rapists lurk within all men, but his point is rather more subtle. Perhaps this approach is a deliberate attempt to open the reader's mind to new ideas. Or perhaps he needs a more restrained editor.
Still, a razor-sharp intellect with a serious academic purpose lurks behind the loose phrasing and wordiness. Dutton stacks up references to interlocking personality studies, brain scans and physiological examinations, comparing members of the general population with those behind bars and those who excel at certain sharp-end professions. His argument is that most "psychopaths" aren't violent, and indeed most aren't locked away. Many excel in society precisely because they possess, in a more moderate or controlled way, the same traits that land their more antisocial brethren in a world of hurt.
The key traits include: ruthlessness; intense capacity to focus, excluding all distractions such as fear; powerful reward motivation; a disposition to action; acute ability to read emotions in other people, without being moved by them; charisma; mental resilience; and mindfulness, the ability to live in the present moment.
Many people have some of these traits, he says. Those who can manage to flick them on and off according to circumstance have a powerful toolkit for doing well in life, particularly in high-risk, high-reward professions. Those with only partial control of such traits, or who have them jammed full-on all the time, may severely hurt others, ruin their own business or even damage the world economy. Those who lack any such traits should try to embrace a few, Dutton suggests.
In examining CEOs, Dutton also cites a 2005 academic study that compared business managers, psychiatric patients and hospitalized criminals in a psychological profiling test. "A number of psychopathic attributes were actually more common in business leaders than in so-called disturbed criminals," Dutton writes, listing attributes such as superficial charm, egocentricity, persuasiveness, lack of empathy, independence, and focus. The main difference lay in the "antisocial" traits, with the criminals' physical aggression, impulsivity and lawbreaking dials cranked up higher.
One of Dutton's own surveys, in which visitors to his website take a personality test called the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale and give details of their professions, found that CEOs ranked highest on the scale, followed by lawyers, TV and radio workers, salespeople, surgeons and journalists.
Dutton interviews "functional psychopath" special-forces soldiers, financial traders, lawyers and doctors, often in exotic locales, who speak of experiencing altered states of consciousness when entirely focused on their work, akin to the concept of "flow" or "optimal experience" of Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. One of the most intriguing of Dutton's insights is the similarity he relates between certain psychopathic traits and those exhibited by experts in Buddhist meditation. Both are very good, for example, at reading emotions in people's faces, embracing new experiences, remaining in the moment and practicing detachment.
To say psychological traits required in killing and in making a killing in the markets are not dissimilar may seem trite. Yet Dutton, despite his tendency to showboat, uses that observation as a starting point for a disconcerting and intelligent exploration of the outer reaches and useful inner depths of at least some human minds.
[...]
76 of 89 people found the following review helpful.
Interesting but rambling and unconvincing
By Yours truly,
The point the author seems to be making is that a little psychopathy can be a good thing. He mentions quite a few successful businessmen and politicians who score high on psychopath tests. He claims his father is a psychopath. The part I found most interesting was a list of professions and how people in those professions score for psychopathy. Policemen, for instance, score high for psychopathy. But the premise is, in the end, trivial. Surgeons are trained to see their patients as a piece of meat. Policemen and the military are trained to function normally in horrifying conditions and to kill without hesitation. They couldn't do their jobs otherwise. A little of anything is valuable in certain circumstances; cold-bloodiness, contempt, skepticism, you name it. I defy anyone to mention any quality that isn't useful in certain circumstances. It's the degree and circumstances that define whether a trait is valuable or not.
I was left with as many questions as answers. While Mr. Dutton addressed professions, he didn't touch age. I'd be willing to bet that children score high on psychopath tests, because children aren't born with empathy but learn it. So while Dutton is asking questions, he's cherry-picking his questions and demographics. He's addressing certain demographics that he wants us to pay attention to in order to make his point.
Another question I had concerned intelligence - do psychopaths test high, low or conform to the same kind of bell curve non-psychopaths do? And, on the subject of intelligence: He mentions a number of self-confessed psychopaths, so apparently psychopaths do know they're psychopaths. Then he mentions psychopath tests that seem to me to be idiotically simple to see through. For instance, is it okay to put a bunch of pills in your grandmother's teapot to play a joke on her? Most six year old children would know better than to answer yes to that question. So if questions like those are used to determine adult psychopathy and psychopaths know that they are psychopaths, it comes down to whether or not a psychopath wants to let everyone know he's a psychopath - and is therefore not a valid test of psychopathy. We know from countless historical examples that most psychopaths hide their psychopathy behind a veneer of friendly, sociable, non-threatening behavior. Neighbors tell us how kind a psychopath was. Mothers tell us that a psychopath was a sweet child and nice to everyone. I'd be tempted to simply give psychological tests the benefit of the doubt, but previous experience has taught me to never underestimate the intelligence of psychologists. There are some slightly less transparent questions, but every single one mentioned seemed ridiculously transparent to me, leaving me with some big doubts about how effective they were as a test.
I purchased the audiobook version, so I couldn't check footnotes or references, which was a serious problem for me. He mentions "flow" in the context of athletes and states that psychopaths display an ability to reach this mental state. Flow was coined by Csikszentmihalyi in his book of the same title to label a mental state of complete absorption in what one is doing. It's a kind of heightened attention to a task that allows one to tune out everything except what one is doing and it's a creative characteristic displayed by musicians, artists and people on computers, among others. Most people who have been absorbed in a task, then looked up and realized that six hours have gone by in what seems like a half hour, have been in this state. But Dutton doesn't give numbers. How do psychopaths compare to the rest of the population? He mentions simply that psychopaths display the ability to achieve the flow state, without mentioning numbers or whether the statistical sample was valid.
The issues go on and on. Dutton mentions that psychopaths can identify a victim by body language, the way they walk. So can non-psychopath criminals and women. It's been well established that women are better at reading facial expressions and body language than men are. But, Dutton doesn't tell us how psychopaths measure up to other groups that can identify "good" victims. On recognizing a potential victim, it boils down to anyone who has a vested interest in identifying them can do so better than the population as a whole can. Women because they're nurturers and also at risk. Non-psychopath criminals because it part of their skill set for success.
On a personal level, I've known more than one psychopath in my childhood. So, I'm always trying to learn enough to identify them far in advance, so that I can get the heck out of Dodge if one is in the vicinity. I found Dutton's book to be interesting but somewhat unconvincing.
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