Civgene indicates the narcissism, ASPD and sociopath labels as a logical progression similar to id, ego and superego. This led later to the metamind model, as a way to understand the subconscious and empathy as attributes of empathic or non-psychopath humans. We’ve discussed emotional primitives of bliss, despair, and will to action as the building blocks of complex emotions responsible for imagination as the underpinning of empathy. Also we’ve considered the psychopaths ability to love, and it’s limitation to a subtle compulsion to help immediate family such as other mammals display.
With the previous ideas front and center a new consideration emerges. Animals display jealousy. Anyone with more than one pet has seen the green eyed monster emerge, over toys, food, attention. Animals want each others territory and favour. They seem so knowing, so human, when they are jealous.
It could be perceived that jealousy is proof that animals display complex emotions. Namely emotional reactions that involve more than one primitive emotion at once. The behavior that results can be intricate, but this is not evidence of emotional complexity. Jealousy occurs when a strong bliss, dispair, and then will to action reaction happen at the same time. The difference is empathic humans can be jealous as an act of imagination in any time and place, imagination being that passive relational database that is the conscience. Animals and psychopaths react to the now.
What triggers all three primitives? It seems to begin with witnessing external bliss. Bliss seems to create a sympathetic reaction in all animals interested in the same territory or favour as another. One animal senses (sees,hears,smells,etc) another enjoying something and bliss is triggered within them as well. Without the access the other animal has, the bliss activates despair. Despair is simple helplessness. Once despair has reached sufficient depths, will to action is called. Will to action then drives a vast array of actions based on the available rational thought. Rational thought that may be impaired by the strong emotion.
This progression bliss -> despair -> will is ubiquitous. The desire to ‘steal’ what empaths may deem property or currency or interfere in a friendship is occurring at their LEAST rational state. Emotions and the chemical signals they employ have taken over the brain. There is no choice in the process, most importantly there is less or no rational thought. Jealousy is the animal kingdoms more primitive risk management system. The jealousy risk engine is the predecessor to the conscience. Serving a vital role. Making sure that learned behaviors during periods of calm don’t dictate actions at the moments of highest risk. Namely one animal taking another’s territory or favour. It’s a simple trick to snap an animal out of a more common pattern and stand up for it’s self.
A psychopath who has progressed to a sociopath rationally recognizes this risk. He or she will work to avoid situations that provoke jealousy. Partly by limiting social access themselves to those who will accept their assignments without challenge, and partly by becoming materially successful beyond practical needs. They become wildly rich to avoid the green eyed monster.
It’s a good strategy when social interactions are infrequent or small, but inferior to our risk engine, the conscience. Jealousy breaks down as complexity increases. Civilization and it’s enabler the conscience creates the invention and surplus needed to concentrate great wealth and power in psychopath hands, but the psychopaths must face other psychopaths with similar wealth. Instances of jealousy can not be eliminated inside a human civilization.
The flaws in managing risk through jealousy are two fold.
- Centralized power pushes out investment. While invention creates surplus, power saps it. Invention will always occur from empath humans but as a power structure becomes more pervasive, more invention simply occurs outside it. Currency systems form as a way to capitalize on the external investment, and new power is formed outside the old scope. This can be at any scope from a family farm to competing superpowers. Currency (including money) goes to where it is treated best.
- Any environment from a town to a planet has natural boundaries. Since there will always be opportunities to create jealousy a sociopath will assert their dominance until they are stopped by force or exhaust all resources. While they can limit the frequency of jealous experiences, it is a fantasy from a primitive time that they can prevent them.
Notice that both of these risks are long term. Hence the idea the civilization gene, the mutation of the metamind, is a superior engine of long term risk management.
Sociopath stage psychopaths can reliably be identified by their desire for wealth and power. We must avoid the exhaustion of global resources, not by further centralizing their power, but by focusing our power of invention at a local scope. A psychopath will see external currencies as risk as per their tool jealousy, but they have a major disability when weighing risk to property, currency and the autonomy they enable. Currency and property of any type is derived from the conscience itself. Shun false ‘leaders’ that want power over local currencies. Not just currencies we trade for goods and services, but anything that defines our skills, experience and identity. Not out of jealousy of their wealth, but as rejection of their inability to even discern, much less serve, humanities interests.
