BBC News: Dr. Kent Kiehl of my alma mater, University of New Mexico seems to think that the empathy or emotion that psychopaths lack in the midst of committing horrific crimes “may in fact be linked to the reason [they] committed these acts.” Kiehl’s studies – on subjects such as serial killer Brian Dugan - reveal that psychopathy “involve[s] a lack of development in these [emotional] regions [of the brain] which may be genetically determined.” Quite possibly they literally lack the capacity for emotion and have no concept of the harm they can or have caused.
So, then, how do we treat those children who are setting fires, hurting animals, and hurting other humans while displaying little or no remorse and prevent them from continuing down a dark path? It is suggested in the article that some hope “to develop a specific diagnosis for these children – callous and unemotional disorder – and to develop programmes and treatments specifically geared to their condition. In essence, these children have to be painstakingly taught reactions which the rest of us have automatically.”
My question is, would this work, and shouldn’t we start now in identifying and maintaining support systems at an early age for those kids who display a marked lack of empathy or remorse? Prevention saves lives.
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