[ExI] Implications of Sociopath Testing

[Stefano Vaj]

On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 8:28 AM, Lee Corbin <lcorbin at rawbw.com> wrote:
> Stathis writes
> I think that business would be more prosperous if business
> people had more integrity. I've interviewed a number of
> my bosses, and compelled them to give me a number. They say that about 2/3
> of the other business people they
> have to deal with cannot be trusted.

What I am used to say to my clients, is that business would already be
much more simple if people could be trusted to act in *their own* best
interest. Unfortunately, you cannot even consistently expect them to
do so... :-)

> Isn't this quite false?  For, unlike the people who have real
> consciences, the sociopath will break the law, or lie and
> cheat with abandon when there is no fear of being caught.

In fact, I think that the real, clinical sociopath is likely to do
that *irrespective* of the probability of being caught.

But then you are right that even for an ideal utility optimiser the
inability to develop some kind of a superego, and the need to
"calculate" and "weigh" gains, losses and probabilities thereof all
the time any time the opportunity is offered to infringe a social
norm, is already a dysfunctional enough trait... :-)

Stefano Vaj