Psychopath is Latin for “mentally ill person”. Sociopath is Latin for “socially I’ll person”. The reason we use those words to describe violent behaviour is that the people who came before us thought that mentally ill people and social misfits were dangerous. We’re repeating their words, just in Latin instead of English.
An argument has also been made that descriptively, the words now describe ASPD or other disorders. Needless to say, having a bad word for people with ASPD is also a bad thing.
Cops and journalists might use the word and talk about this or that pattern they’ve anecdotally seen, but cops and journalists aren’t scientists. Psychologists do not call people psychopaths.
Also psychopath and sociopath are slurs.
Psychopath is Latin for “mentally ill person”. Sociopath is Latin for “socially I’ll person”. The reason we use those words to describe violent behaviour is that the people who came before us thought that mentally ill people and social misfits were dangerous. We’re repeating their words, just in Latin instead of English.
An argument has also been made that descriptively, the words now describe ASPD or other disorders. Needless to say, having a bad word for people with ASPD is also a bad thing.
Cops and journalists might use the word and talk about this or that pattern they’ve anecdotally seen, but cops and journalists aren’t scientists. Psychologists do not call people psychopaths.