Is current knowledge about psychopathy reflected in Jon Ronson’s book The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry? – controversies around psychopathy

Abstract

In the article we try to respond to a question about the ways current knowledge about psychopathy is reflected in Jon Ronson’s book The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry. Such a response seems necessary since the subject matter of psychopathy is still interesting due to its complexity, and is associated with the quest for the sources of evil in human beings. The term psychopathy also refers to personality disorders. Therefore, controversies might arise when it comes to the use of clinical knowledge and various verification methods by non-experts in this field. It seems that such situations bring our attention to those issues that need improvement in science. It is our hope that this article might add some reflections to the discussion about the necessity of “protecting” clinical knowledge from its extensive popularization.

Keywords

• psychopathy
• diagnosis
• controversies