There is a diverse variety of opinions out there about psychopaths and how they should be treated. Some see them as monsters who cannot be saved. Some see them as dangerous entities to be avoided. Some see them as people who have a disability. And some see them as the master race.

The question here is twofold: can a psychopath feel love, and does a psychopath deserve to be loved in return?

Disclaimer: psychopaths make up a surprisingly large chunk of the population (about .6%), so there's a good chance one of the people on this site is a psychopath and knows it. If you are a psychopath and know it, please let us know and share your experience with love.

This is a moral question, and to even begin answering it in a meaningful way you need to establish a metaethical foundation. I've got one. Check your skype.

Isn't a psychopath defined as lacking empathy?

Don't you need empathy to return love?

I'm gonna say no. If you can't return it, then no.

Empathy is feeling what someone else is feeling just because they are feeling it. If two souls independently come to love one another, is that really any less meaningful than if one person induces it artificially in another? It's not the only perspective, but I think it's interesting to think of it that way. The other factor to consider is that empathy is not the same as compassion. Empathy is feeling what another feels. Compassion is understanding how another feelings, and caring about how they feel, but not feeling it yourself. Which is more important in a relationship?

This feels like it is resting on top of an interesting discussion about whether or not empathy exists to begin with and, if it does to some degree, if it may be a byproduct of intuition. Along that line of thought, could it be that empathy (as in, relative empathy - I pretty strongly think that true empathy is impossible) is a trait of those who primarily experience and associate the world unconsciously, with psychopathy being a much more conscious range of experience/association? To be clear, I'm not at all trying to bring forth with this the idea that consciousness is more admirable than unconsciousness, rather I think that the hybridization of both is more useful than consistently leaning towards one or the other to any extreme degree.

Edit: I guess I didn't even acknowledge the original question. I don't really feel like this can be answered because it seems like psychopathy can take a great number of forms and whether or not someone deserves something seems wholly like a matter of opinion.

This post was edited by futurism at April 24, 2017 10:22:11 PM PDT

Deserve? Irrelevant. Either happens or it does not happen. Do people who have done me wrong deserve to have the sun shine upon them?

A better question might be can they find love? Possibly - what if it were with another psychopath? The next logical question is whether or not that love and relationship would be sustainable? And if it could be sustained, would that help keep the psychopaths' tendencies "in-check", as it were?

I like your questions! If a dear friend of yours had the opportunity to date a psychopath, and asked for your advice, I imagine you'd tell them the same thing. And you'd discuss with them what you think the answers were, or how they should to about finding them, yes? So do you believe psychopaths can find love? Is that love sustainable? Do you think your friend could develop a healthy relationship with this person?

I think that psychopaths could heal and develop the ability to have empathy and compassion and feel real loving attachment to someone (as opposed to the short lived dopamine high they feel) only if they want to. However they usually don't want to change so it's not possible. Do they deserve love? Well I think they have freewill and choose to stay that way and hurt people so no I don't think they deserve to be loved. They are to blame for their behaviour and are fully in control of it.

Psychopathy is not treatable. Though research is still in its early stages, the condition seems to be caused by lesions in the brain, specifically in the left medial temporal lobe and the orbitofrontal cortex.

For more evidence, review the work of Dr James Fallon, a neurobiologist whose study of psychopathic brains inadvertently revealed that he himself was a psychopath, much to his surprise, but apparently not to his family, who he loves and cares for to this day

psychopathy is a psychological disorder that can be treated
every human deserves to be loved
also lack of empathy doesn't mean no empathy at all
many people have psychopathic tendencies, that doesn't make them serial killers or really any kind of bad people
it usually develops from childhood trauma and many of them seek help to function normally

I believe it should depend on context. If they can truly care for another person and that other person care for them, then who can go against them? Everyone deserves love. Now if they are incapable of love than that's different. They of course need the love and support of their family, but if they cause pain to all those around them then introducing a new form of love in their life could be unimaginably painful for them and their potential lover.

I loved a covert narcissist. I loved him, I knew what he was eventually and I thought unconditional love could last even if we were not together. The problem is, like the mask they create for themselves, they create another for you. It seemed most of the time he was talking to this strawman he made of me who had all the same negative aspects and shames that he did. He was a cheater so I was too, he was manipulative so even if I had no idea what I was doing I was just manipulating him with love. Hmmmmm it seems there are too many people in this relationship. It has nothing to do what the partner can do for these types of people its what the Psychopath or B cluster type do for themselves. We cannot love enough, counsel enough or even problem solve enough someone who cannot face who they really are and do it for themselves. Trying to have adult relationships with traumatized children......no, you have to leave that to professionals who are completely detached. This type of person rarely seeks mental health help. Its called self love and its #1 for all who are going to have healthy relationships. :)

tru

This post would suggest they haven't already found it.
What constitutes love? Psychopaths have been loved by others and many psychopaths love themselves. I envy that kind of self involvement. So is the question "do they deserve to love someone back?"?

Psychopaths don't really feel love the way "we" do.
While sociopaths can feel it with certain individuals, psychopaths are robbed of the core ability which would allow them to form a bond. By no fault of own, they were said to be born this way, even their brain is different if you look at the scans.

I wouldn't say they don't "deserve it", but they can't return it, and like it or not, love is a trade, being happy its end goal. Besides, as they see the world as chess, their partner would likely be another piece on their board which they'd attempt to manipulate to their will; - Their relationships do not generally go 50/50, or even close to that percentage, which is an issue few would wish to deal with.