HE ONLY GETS THE DETRIMENT OF DOUBT
Behavior, ethics, disorder, and the continuing search for the truth of this moment
On my use of quotes. By continuing use of quotes I hope to impart upon the reader the concept that regardless of the apparent anomaly of our times; human nature has always been a constant. This is a soothing balm to my psyche, and I assume it’s reassuring to others as well. I try to find the common threads to other times with the reassuring realization that not all was lost then.
“Although quotation may, no doubt, be carried to excess, yet there is frequently as much ability in making a happy application of a thought of an other writer as in its first conception.”
— C. T. Ramage.
Craufurd Tait Ramage (1803–1878) was a Scottish travel writer and anthologist.
Anton Checkhov was a great writer to quote. His observations seem quite profound to me. The quotes below are placed to supplement my written verse. Perhaps this is a sign of a lazy writer, but I like to think of it as only an efficiency. You should recognize a certain man, his acolytes and followers in the following. You will also find some words of guidance among the quotes.
“Calculating selfishness is the annihilation of self.”
— Anton Chekhov
“Lying is the same as alcoholism. Liars prevaricate even on their deathbeds.”
— Anton Chekhov
“Man is what he believes.”
— Anton Chekhov
“The illusion which exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand truths.”
— Anton Chekhov
“You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible.”
— Anton Chekhov
“A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat.”
— Anton Chekhov
“He who doesn't know how to be a servant should never be allowed to be a master; the interests of public life are alien to anyone who is unable to enjoy others' successes, and such a person should never be entrusted with public affairs.”
— Anton Chekhov
“The unhappy are egotistical, base, unjust, cruel, and even less capable of understanding one another than are idiots. Unhappinessdoes not unite people, but separates them.”
— Anton Chekhov
“A good person will feel guilty even before a dog.”
— Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904[note 3]) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre. Chekhov was a physician by profession. "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress."
“Shamelessness is their super power.” Digby, the author and political pundit has said of the wide majority of today’s right wing. This statement is absolutely true in my opinion. I would imagine remorse will also be a scant phenomenon among so many in the future.
“Where there is remorse there may be penitence.”
— T. Binney.
Thomas Binney (1798–1874) was an English Congregationalist divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the "Archbishop of Nonconformity". He was noted for sermons and writings in defence of the principles of Nonconformity, for devotional verse, and for involvement in the cause of anti-slavery.
Treachery banisheth trust.
— Politeuphuia.
POLITEUPHUIA ; or, WIT'S COMMONWEALTH; the name of a small collection of classical quotations and maxims, supposed to have been compiled by John Bodenham, (q.v.) and Nicolas Lynge, (q.v.) published in London, 1669.
As is my practice I look at the science which possibly has bearing on this over all topic and to the essence of my verse. Reading through the sources, a certain recognition prevails to me. Perhaps you might, or might not agree. This pathological behavior we have witnessed over many years has been commented on thousands of times by experts and certain more courageous journalists, but I will sound the alarm once again.
Cluster B personality disorders.
In the general population, the largest number of personality disorders fall in the Cluster B group. There are four personality disorders in Cluster B.
Antisocial Personality
Individuals exhibit a pervasive pattern of disregard for the rights of others and rules of society.
The Antisocial Personality ranges from individuals who are chronically irresponsible, unsupportive, con-artists to those who have total disregard for the rights of others and commit criminal acts with no remorse, including those involving the death of victims.
In clinical practice, the Antisocial Personality has near-total selfishness and typically has a pattern of legal problems, lying and deception, physical assault and intimidation, no regard for the safety of others, unwillingness for meet normal standards for work/support/parenting, and no remorse.
From the National Library of Medicine
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a deeply ingrained and rigid dysfunctional thought process that focuses on social irresponsibility with exploitive, delinquent, and criminal behavior with no remorse. Disregard for and the violation of others' rights are common manifestations of this personality disorder, which displays symptoms that include failure to conform to the law, inability to sustain consistent employment, deception, manipulation for personal gain, and incapacity to form stable relationships.
The estimated lifetime prevalence of ASPD amongst the general population falls within 1 to 4%. Due to the predicting factor of the initial diagnosis of conduct disorder before the age of 15, this assumption can be quite broad as CD [childhood conduct disorder] does not always get adequately evaluated. Gender distribution tends to be skewed towards males, with 3 to 5 times more likelihood of being diagnosed with ASPD than females, with 6% men and 2% women within the general population. Substance abuse has been found to show a significant correlation to the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, while education and intelligence displays a negative correlation, with a higher prevalence of ASPD amongst those with lower IQs and reading levels. Research has shown reductions in the prevalence rate with increasing age in criminal populations, as well as epidemiological samples. Changes in personality traits with age and increased mortality with the behavior of antisocial personality disorder have been hypothesized to justify this age-dependent alteration.
Before performing a comprehensive psychiatric assessment of the patient, a careful history and physical examination is necessary. "The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder
A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
Failure to conform to social norms concerning lawful behaviors, such as performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
Deceitfulness, repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for pleasure or personal profit.
Impulsivity or failure to plan.
Irritability and aggressiveness, often with physical fights or assaults.
Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others.
Consistent irresponsibility, failure to sustain consistent work behavior, or honor monetary obligations.
Lack of remorse, being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another person.
The individual is at least age 18 years.
Evidence of conduct disorder typically with onset before age 15 years.
The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during schizophrenia or bipolar disorder."
Those who were either never imprisoned or imprisoned for longer periods displayed greater remission rates than those imprisoned for shorter periods. This finding indicated that short-term incarceration could be somewhat preventive for future antisocial behavior.
The diagnosis, categorization, and management of ASPD is quite complex and multifaceted, often only presenting after harm has already taken place. Management of the disorder is best with an interprofessional team dedicated to the treatment of mental health disorders. People with antisocial personality disorder are at risk of incarceration due to the violent and deceitful nature of the behaviors elicited in ASPD. Hospitalization provides no benefit to a patient with ASPD and can actually create a disruptive hospital environment to others who truly need hospitalization for therapeutic purposes. The majority of these individuals are noncompliant with therapy and often fail to show up at clinics. Thus, management can be difficult.
But wait a minute, what about the other possible diagnosis which might apply? From Medical News Today the following.
A person with malignant narcissism may harm others to gain attention, feed their sense of superiority, and get what they want. For this reason, a person may also have traits of antisocial personality disorder. These include:
disregard for or hostility toward the rights of others
aggression and violence
lack of remorse for harming others
a tendency to lie
breaking the law
chronic irresponsibility
impulsive or reckless behavior
A person with malignant narcissism may appear superficially charming. They may manipulate people to gain praise or lie about others to depict themself in a more flattering light.
Not all involved in the MAGA movement will be pegged in the Cluster B group of the DSM-5 of course, or perhaps in any group. In my research I came across the term of ethical fading. It is primarily a term meant for ethical behavior within an organization such as a company. I’ve found some research papers on it, and it looks promising as a means to understand the drift to the extremism of common people of today, perhaps of the Republican Party as a whole, the disregard for mass shootings, and the current ethics displayed in the US Supreme Court. It might lend a way to analyze these phenomenon in a rational way. I intend to write more about this. There is an introduction below from Notre Dame if you wish to look into it further. I’ve found an in-depth research paper I need to study some more.
We rarely mean to do the wrong thing, but subtle cues lead us to ignore the moral implications of our decisions. We let our ethics "fade" from view. Researchers call this process ethical fading. It's one of the main reasons there is a gap between how we intend to behave and how we actually end up behaving. When ethical fading takes place in high-stakes situations, the results can be disastrous. Notre Dame researcher Ann Tenbrunsel points out that ethical fading played a role the famous case of the Ford Pinto in the 1970s. In crash tests, the Ford Pinto's gas tank showed a tendency to explode. But after an analysis suggested it would be cheaper to pay off lawsuits than make the $11-per-vehicle fix, Ford decided not to repair the flaw. By making what appeared to be the smart "business decision," Ford's leaders made an unethical choice and put many customers in harm’s way.
“Without civic morality communities perish; without personal morality their survival has no value.”
— Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science and various areas of analytic philosophy, especially philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics.
My writing led me in an obtuse direction with this posting. I’m somewhat obsessed with trying to get to the truth of this moment. And so I seem to be somewhat repetitive in my postings now. But I find the more a thought is chased the more clearly it can be defined, or at least that is my own personal notion. Thanks for reading this.
35th posting, June 7, 2023