RE: Enjoyment from watching others get hurt, and sociopathy
November 28, 2017 at 6:02 pm
(This post was last modified: November 28, 2017 at 6:10 pm by Edwardo Piet.)
(November 28, 2017 at 1:46 pm)The Gentleman Bastard Wrote: I can't speak for everyone, or even to all the sports mentioned in the OP, but big hits in football are typically indicative of a good play. I don't stand up and cheer when a receiver is clobbered after a 30-yard gain. I do, however, cheer when the oposing quarterback or running back is crushed for a loss. It's not the hit, it's the result.
So, in other words, would it be fair to say that it's not just what you're cheering but why you are cheering it, that's important?
(November 28, 2017 at 2:20 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: I know there is more to sociopathy than lack of empathy and enjoyment in watching other people get hurt. But it is one very prominent trait of a sociopath that separates them from neuro typical people... supposedly.
I think they are two traits though. Sadism is one, and lack of empathy is another. I'm sadistic, in some contexts, but I don't lack empathy. After all, I am very compassionate in other contexts.
Quote:No, I definitely don't think you're a sociopath. I dont think people who watch MMA are sociopaths. Or even people who watch violent rapey porn, necessarily.
...That's why this is so confusing to me and why I started this thread. Is there a sort of deep seeded part in many normal people that enjoyes violence against others? Is it a primitive instinct?
Yeah, I think so. And I'm glad you recognize that it takes a lot more than primal sadism to be sociopathic. So, if your question was about how that isn't sociopathic, I think the answer is "because that's not what sociopathy is".
Quote: If so, then can we really say that having empathy is part of being a normal person, when it can be so easily tossed out the window for the exact opposite? (ie, blood lust)
I think that having empathy is definitely part of being a normal person, but being sadistic is rather normal as well. It's certainly not all or nothing. I can be both empathetic and sadistic, for instance. And it's important to notice that sadism, by itself, is harmless. And, hell, it can even be enjoyed by the other person too . . . that's what masochism is. It's not just that I may get pleasure from other's pain, but if they're masochistic they may get pleasure from their pain too. And it's important to remember that pain is different to suffering, and that's the crucial difference. If they were really suffering they wouldn't be consenting to it and getting masochistic pleasure from it. I certainly don't get any pleasure from anything non-consensual that causes any genuine suffering. I think that would be borderline sociopathic . . . but still not fully sociopathic. Sociopathy is more than that.
