Naslov
The kindness of psychopaths

Autori
Brzović, Zdenka ; Jurjako, Marko ; Šustar, Predrag

Izvornik
International studies in the philosophy of science (0269-8595) 31 (2017), 2; 189-211

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Psychopathy ; syndrome ; natural kinds ; Homeostatic property clusters ; Stable property clusters ; pragmatic kinds

Sažetak
Psychopathy is a personality disorder that has attracted considerable interdisciplinary interest. In fact, the idea of a group of people with abnormal morality and interpersonal relations raises important philosophical, legal, and clinical issues. However, before engaging these issues, we ought to examine whether this category is scientifically grounded, namely whether this way of grouping individuals is explanatory and not merely a byproduct of our tendency to segregate people seemingly different from us. In this paper, we frame the issue in terms of the question whether ‘psychopathy’ designates a natural kind. We argue that currently there is no sufficient evidence for an affirmative answer to this question. Furthermore, we draw some philosophical implications of this result and examine three ways of dealing with the category of psychopathy. These include: We could eliminate the category, revise it, or subscribe to a more encompassing account of kinds, which will be able to capture psychopathy as it is currently conceptualized. We argue that a revision of the category of psychopathy is to be expected with the empirical and theoretical advancements. However, we also emphasize its current role in research, clinical and forensic practices as a scientific category in the making, or as we argue, a pragmatic kind.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Interdisciplinarne društvene znanosti, Filozofija, Interdisciplinarne humanističke znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA