Evidence grows that mental illness is more than dysfunction
Reminds me of a science fiction novel I read, in which society had genetically engineered people they called ‘vampires’. Stronger, faster and much smarter than humans. They were also engineered with sociopathic traits: lack of empathy, seeing others and society as systems, machines.
The ‘vampires’ were needed to solve complex, difficult problems beyond ordinary human abilities, problems that threatened to destroy the human species.
Perhaps this is related to the idea that sociopathology exists because there were times when societies needed the condition’s combination of clear thinking, situational understanding, impulsiveness, and willingness to sacrifice others, in order to survive violent threats such as wars?
Dancing Treefrog 