NCJ Number
174843
Date Published
1996
Length
369 pages
Annotation
This book bridges the fields of psychiatry and criminology to explain the behavior of rapists, stalkers, serial killers, psychopaths, professional exploiters, killer cults, and other individuals; it attempts to break down the false separation between good and bad people, pointing out that the dark side is an essential component of humanity.
Abstract
Society is frightened yet fascinated by the dark side of human behavior. Millions of law-abiding citizens are avid consumers of movies, television programs, books, and articles that portray murder, rape, and other forms of violence. Yet, most humans go about the daily business of life without committing murder, rape, and other violent acts. The basic difference between good and bad people is not one of kind but rather of degree and the ability of the bad to translate dark impulses into dark actions. Forensic psychiatrists constantly examine criminal defendants who have committed antisocial acts, and they note an intimate and reciprocal connection between symptoms and destructive acting out behavior. Recognizing that society, religion, and the law all take moral positions about right and wrong, the author attempts to dispel the basic fallacy that destruction and violence reside only in the acts of bad men and women and not in the thoughts of good people. He believes that the restraint of antisocial impulses is learned from birth and through many other social structures and that much of life's work and play involves the necessary channeling of aggressive impulses. References and tables