Being a naturally-born anomaly of Science (EMP = Empathetic Mutant Psychopath), I know all three personality types extremely well. I will begin with the most common using Webster’s Dictionary:
NARCISSIST:
a person who is overly self-involved and often vain and selfish.
Yes, all humans and animals are born narcissists. The survival instinct (self-preservation) is an undeniable fact. My definition of human narcissism is individuals whose selfish mentality affects only themselves or causes no intentional physical harm to others. Their delusional view of themselves can be annoying to others but physically harmless. I would estimate this personality type to be around 94% of Earth's population.
SOCIOPATH:
a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.
Yes, this is the mentality and actions of nearly all CEOs, Entertainers, Gangsters, Politicians, and so on. The sociopath will stop at nothing to obtain whatever they desire, including inflicting physical harm upon other humans. Most of the time, they will order someone else to enact physical harm (including murder) to obtain their objectives. However, they are not above assaulting others themselves if absolutely necessary or as a last resort.
They are generally impulsive or reckless and possess no moral compass or code of honor. Of course, there are nuances (levels or degrees) to the sociopathic mind. They are the narcissist on steroids, indeed. I believe that sociopaths make up approximately 5% of Earth's population.
PSYCHOPATH:
a person with a psychopathic personality, which manifests as amoral and antisocial behavior, a lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, and failure to learn from experience.
Yes, as with the sociopath, there are nuances to the psychopathic mind. One size does not fit all psychopaths. However, one common denominator exists for all:
The need to exterminate the living.
This is the primary distinction between the other two personality types and a psychopath. Hence, if one craves the killing of others, that one is a psychopath. Narcissists and sociopaths do not rise to the level of needing to kill. We are not reckless but calculated and extremely meticulous. Although, some low-level psychopaths may not be as meticulous, we of the highest level certainly are.
Sigmund Freud, a neurologist and founding father of psychoanalysis, tried to define the human mind, also known as the soul, spirit, or psyche, by using the terms: Id, which represents primal instincts; Ego, the source of self-importance or esteem; and Super-Ego, the source of acquired morality that mediates between the Id and the Ego.
Well, Sigmund Freud made a valiant attempt to define the human mind. However, his conclusion is unfalsifiable, for no human can extract the mind from the body. The mind is intangible or physically untestable. A psychologist or psychiatrist can only observe the behavior patterns of individuals & ask questions. However, behavior can be faked (especially by a high-level psychopath) and the answers to questions could be lies.
I have been given meditation and martial arts training since birth to control the craving to exterminate. I have also been given a religious code of conduct (rules) that guides my life to this day. The television program 'Dexter' was the first of its kind to represent our mentalities to the general public.
Through training, I have been able to maintain long-term relationships (married for 24 years), suppress or control egocentricity, and serve and protect humans globally as a soldier or clandestine operative. We psychopaths comprise approximately 1% of the Earth's population.
I sincerely hope that these three personality types I have outlined will inject new perspectives into the fields of Psychology and Psychiatry.
Thanks for reading,
(c) Prof. Robert Stewart Ph.D (2023)
