Sociopath?

I am writing a character who is sort of a sociopath, but he isn't. He's a sociopath in that he doesn't feel guilty for what he does. He is unburdened by second-guessing himself. But at the same time, he's not unsympathetic to those around him, he does not lack empathy. He's not cruel, but if the circumstances call for him to do something drastic, like kill someone, he will do it without hesitation or remorse. He will be philosophical about it, and think about what he has done, but he does not feel guilty for it. In a way he is completely and totally alienated from society, but he is ok with that. He accepts it as his lot and doesn't navel-gaze.

Is this kind of character even realistic? Or are we conditioned to think that people who are not saddled with guilt are sociopathic? Is there some underlying assumption in our culture that guilt is moral and healthy?

Nope, a sociopath is defined not only by a lack of remorse or guilt but also by a lack of empathy.

Your person just seems to have anti social personality disorder.

Sounds like a career soldier, to me.

Yes, Ivan, that is what I have thought of as well, though he is not a career soldier, more of a cloistered academic.

Cluricaun One problem I have with modern psychology is that everything is framed in terms of disorder. Must it be disordered?

It all depends on the position of the observer, doesn't it? In a world full of socio and psychopaths the empathetic one is disordered.

But sure, it seems odd to phrase something as rigidly conpartmentalized as something such as OCD as a "disorder" since it's really just "hyper-ordered".

From the description of the OP, I'd say that character isn't a sociopath, though armchair shrinks would itch to shove him into that designation, because armchair shrinks think sociopaths are sexy and quirky or something.

Fact is, that's the mentality of somebody in a kill-or-die situation and people have been living like that a lot longer than our modern day "every life is sacred" ethos.

Yes, he was just trained to believe that his life is more important than anyone else's lives. But not only that he was provided with a telos by which to live his life, and even that is more important than anyone else's lives. He simply does not see most other people as his equals.

IMO, sounds a bit like the dude in American Psycho, played by Christian Bale. Interesting character territory.

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Originally posted by spitzbergen

IMO, sounds a bit like the dude in American Psycho, played by Christian Bale. Interesting character territory.

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Well that character was schizophrenic. My character is basically an alien in the world he lives in and is made alien from the world he comes from by his separation of having lived on the other world for a while, but also as a result of unique training that he was raised in for his whole life. So he's not really like Bateman in American Psycho, he's just self-contained, all of his morals and ethics are within a completely internal code. He's quite empathetic, and even sympathetic to others. This is why I was interested in the idea of the Sociopath. Because the Sociopath has certain characteristics in common with this character, but this character is not subject to the same limitations. He can be charming to people because he can be empathetic to anyone and everyone's plight, as opposed to the sociopath who is charming because he's equally unempathetic to everyone else. But at the same time this empathy doesn't hinder his actions, he can act directly from his own motivations without feeling guilty about how it affects others even if he can empathize with the suffering he causes others. I hesitate to say he is enlightened, because due to his alienation from society there are everyday occurrences that are just not within the realm of his experience.

How is your story coming, Tinker?