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I don't think being able to distinguish right and wrong is sufficient to say that somebody has a conscience. They also have to care. In particular, sociopaths are characterized by a lack of empathy and remorse, not by a lack of understanding.

Anyhow, if you tend a little in that direction, you're an asshole. A lot, and you're a sociopath. That's my view, anyhow.



Seeing this as your view, i think it is a fair assessment.

But there are some things that make me think a bit more:

[0]"They also have to care" [1]"sociopaths are characterized by a lack of empathy and remorse"

To establish one's caring ability [0], does one have to explicitly state that they care (to the public), or can that be a judgement coming from the massess from "whatever" basis makes up the moral code of their society that had been established by a relative minority group of people over time (which sometimes constitutes the tyranny of the majority)?

And again with [1], is this a self characterization, or an external one?

From the examples above by you before, it seems like sociopaths are more than likely in a position of power that was given by a group of people. If so, what does that say about the group of people (or massess) that empower the sociopaths?




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