[One Sip of a Book] The Psychopath Hidden Within Us

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart and create a connection with the book. We introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

This book, written by criminologist Professor Lee Yunho, aims to clarify the essence of psychopaths and sociopaths and to properly understand the reality we live with them. The author corrects misunderstandings by presenting misconceptions or incorrect standards about them. Furthermore, he advises that psychopaths and sociopaths differ from mental illnesses and should not simply be dismissed as 'demons.'

What factors create a psychopath? Is it innate (nature, genetics)? Or acquired (environment, upbringing)? Why can't we prevent children with psychopathic tendencies from growing into dangerous adults? The debate between nature and nurture is one of the oldest questions from a psychological perspective. When observed psychologically, antisocial personality disorder is presumed to result from a combination of innate and acquired factors. This assumption also explains why children with innate psychopathic temperaments and tendencies develop into adult psychopaths. p.28

Ordinary people often break out in cold sweat or get goosebumps and experience changes in heart rate when they see or hear about the shocking images of cruel acts committed by psychopaths. However, psychopaths do not show normal physiological responses such as changes in heart rate or sweating when committing brutal acts. This surprises criminal psychologists, psychiatrists, as well as police and prosecutors. They also say it is impossible to win a staring contest against them. p.42

As Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Nilsen expressed earlier, violently changed psychopaths feel that even their last shallow connection to the normal world has been crushed, reaching a point of no return. In other words, if even the shallow connection to the normal world is severed, they may become violent. As a result, their sadness and pain grow, and their crimes become increasingly bizarre. Both Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Nilsen had no friends and committed murders simply because they wanted to be with people they briefly associated with. They wanted to become one with their victims, talking to corpses, spending time with them, and even eating parts of the bodies. p.66

Psychopaths Hidden Within Us | Written by Lee Yunho · Illustrated by Park Jinsook | Pacific Dodo | 340 pages | 22,000 KRW