Rocco J. Gennaro257–262). Thus, we have examples where introspective ability is sometimes even greater than
normal, not to mention the unusual case of Temple Grandin who holds a Ph.D. and is a profes-
sor of animal science. So, we might argue that instead of a lack of mind-reading skills negatively
impacting one’s metacognitive ability, such an intense self-awareness might cause subjects to
lack the typical awareness of others. That is, the self-preoccupation of some autistic individuals
might even explain their lack of mind-reading skills. Many of the main deficits in question, such
as impaired empathizing skills, lack of imagination, and difficulties with joint attention, might
actually result from a heightened sense of introspection.^8
4 PsychopathyPsychopathy is a mental disorder characterized by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emo-
tions, and egocentricity. These abnormalities certainly seem to include deficits of consciousness,
such as the inability to show empathy to others or to experience deep emotional connection
to others. Psychopathy is sometimes accompanied by “narcissistic personality disorder,” which
results in a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, along with lack of empathy. Psychopaths
are unable to feel distress by the perception of others in pain. Although the degree to which
someone has the capacity for empathic distress can obviously vary, psychopaths are very different
from other people.
Psychopaths have difficulty distinguishing between violating moral norms or rules and violat-
ing conventional norms (Dolan and Fullam 2010). Non-psychopaths understand the difference,
say, between beating someone (a moral norm violation) and not responding to a formal invita-
tion (a conventional norm violation). Normal people tend to characterize moral norms as very
serious, whereas conventional norms are thought of as dependent on context and authority.
Even children begin to grasp the distinction between moral and conventional norms at a very
early age. Psychopaths, on the other hand, tend to treat all norms as norms of convention. It is
not even clear that psychopaths fully grasp moral concepts.
Psychopaths are often diagnosed using the “Psychopathy Checklist,” which includes such
personality traits as lack of remorse or guilt, shallow affect, grandiose sense of self-worth, and
socially deviant lifestyle (Hare 2003; Malatesti and McMillan 2010). Still, the very category of
psychopathy is somewhat controversial within psychiatry. The DSM treats the diagnosis as “anti-
social personality disorder,” which includes such symptoms as destructive and criminal behavior.
For this reason, there is the worry that the diagnosis will be used to excuse such behavior. The
philosophical literature on the moral responsibility of psychopaths is enormous (beginning with
Murphy 1972), but it is worth noting that some psychopathic personality traits can actually be
positive in certain contexts (e.g. high self-confidence and toleration of unfamiliarity or danger).
These traits can be found in high achievers in corporate and other respected institutional set-
tings, such as the academic, legal, and medical professions (Babiak 2010).
Despite a lack of empathy and the inability to identify with other’s sensory experiences,
psychopaths are clearly excellent at times in understanding other minds, especially in more cog-
nitive aspects. After all, psychopaths are often very good at deceiving and manipulating others,
which most certainly requires some mind-reading skills. Some serial killers and child-molesters
can be cunning and patient in order to gain a victim’s trust. Of course, having abnormal mind-
reading skills does not automatically lead to psychopathy. As we saw in the previous section,
autistic people also have mind-reading difficulties, but they do not share most of the other
characteristics of psychopaths.
Of course, whenever there is a mass murder or we become aware of a psychopathic serial
killer, we also often wonder about a suspect’s mental health and whether it should excuse them