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THE WISDOM OF PSYCHOPATHS: WHAT SAINTS, SPIES, AND

SERIAL KILLERS CAN TEACH US ABOUT SUCCESS.

Article · January 2013

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or discussion of professional mental health
ethics. The work is intentionally global in its
treatment of public policy and health care.
Nonetheless, there are few references to how
these themes or tensions would surface unique-
ly within specific cultural or ethnic settings.
To her credit, this physician author consistently
speaks to reader about the need to seek support
from groups and professional counselors. Here
is one example:
From God’s perspective, our health
includes our spiritual, emotional and
psychological wellbeing, so it is also
appropriate to seek help for treat-
ment if any of these are damaged.
Accordingly, it would be appropriate
to ask for counseling to help cope
with the psychological and emotional
challenges of infertility if you find it
difficult to work through the issues
on your own. You might decide to
speak with your minister, or you may
go to a professional counselor. Good
professional counselors don’t tell you
what to do so much as help you
understand your own thoughts and
feelings. Some Christians find it easi-
er with a Christian counselor,
although (as with doctors) many
counselors are happy to take your
belief system into account even if
they don’t share it themselves (p.
458).
If a reader of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
were to heed the advice of the author and per-
haps seek out a CAPS affiliated clinician, this
would indeed be the ideal primer for that thera-
pist to enter into constructive dialogue. There is
a steady flow of heartfelt compassion for anyone
facing an ethical decision related to reproduc-
tion. There is no hint that the choices under
consideration are simple or straightforward. In
addition, there is no hesitation to recommend
the use of technology where it may relieve suf-
fering or bring about the birth of a new child in
a way that honors our Creator. My prayer has
been that more counselors will enter into face-
to-face conversations with those distressed or
suffering regarding reproductive struggles or
childlessness. Having resources such as this
book will go a long way in preparing helpers to
offer hospitality to those on this journey.
* * * psychopathic traits: Charismatic v. Superficial
BOOK REVIEWS 265
THE WISDOM OF PSYCHOPATHS: WHAT
SAINTS, SPIES, AND SERIAL KILLERS CAN
TEACH US ABOUT SUCCESS. Kevin Dutton, New
York: Scientific American/Farrar, Straus, & Giroux,
2012. Pp. 261, Hardback, $26. ISBN 978-0-374-
29135-8. Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton (Evan-
gel University / Springfield, MO).
Every time we learn of a mass killing in an
otherwise peaceful community, news sources
descend on the hapless to represent our collec-
tive puzzlement, “Why?” How could anyone do
such a thing? Leaders cringe when the perpetra-
tors are linked to their religious or ethnic group
as if an association implied causation. Dutton’s
thesis takes us beyond the violent acts of some
psychopaths to the behavior of people who
head governments, churches, and multinational
corporations. Dutton focuses on the traits of psy-
chopaths and believes we can learn something
useful from a more moderate version of the cal-
lous core dimensions.
Kevin Duton is a passionate story teller who
piqued my interest by his clever lecture title,
“What Psychopaths Teach Us about How to Suc-
ceed” and his ability to weave experiments,
interviews, and case studies into a cohesive nar-
rative in a Scientific American (2012) podcast
adapted from his book. He gains and maintains
readers’ attention by offering examples of main-
stays like John Wayne Gracy and Gary Gilmore
as well as other lesser known members of this
four percent club- including his own father. But
Dutton is a psychological scientist at Oxford Uni-
versity who does not rely on case studies to sup-
port his thesis; he offers a smorgasbord of
research in support of his thesis that the traits of
psychopaths can be adaptive in society.
Readers get an abbreviated tour of personali-
ty theory beginning with Hippocrates’ four
temperaments and rapidly proceeding to Cat-
tell’s sweet 16, the Big Five, and the final four
factor model from Robert Hare’s revision of the
well-known Hare Psychopathy Checklist. After
making his case for the measurement of per-
sonality and psychopathic traits, Dutton
explores how select traits, or dimensions of
those traits, may be linked to high levels of
success in society. One recent such attempt is
the development of the Business Scan scales
(also four dimensions) designed to examine
traits in corporate leaders. Here are a few
examples of variations between leadership and
266 BOOK REVIEWS
charm, Self-confidence v. Grandiosity, Action
oriented v. Thrill seeking.
Dutton identifies seven core psychopathic
traits, which he labels the Seven Deadly Wins:
Ruthlessness, charm, focus, mental toughness,
fearlessness, mindfulness, and action. He finds
high levels of these traits in such diverse profes-
sions as CEOs, Lawyers, Salespersons and Cler-
gypersons. Low levels appear in Nurses,
Therapists, Teachers, and Accountants. He heads
to Broadmoor prison (United Kingdom) to test
the theory that those incarcerated do not adjust
the seven core traits to succeed in particular sit-
uations. Within the high security Paddock Cen-
tre, he interviews the inhabitants of the
Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder
wards using moral dilemmas. In novelistic style,
Dutton illustrates the losing side of psychopathy.
The journey ends with an unexpected foray
into spirituality. Using Venn diagrams, Dutton
illustrates how spiritual and psychopathic states
may overlap in facets like stoicism, mindfulness,
fearlessness, and mental toughness, while not
sharing traits associated with persons identified
as psychopathic (e.g., impulsivity, lack of con-
science) or spiritual (e.g., love, gentleness).
In The Wisdom of Psychopaths, Dutton demon-
strates considerable charm as a writer who com-
municates well with scientists and educated
readers. While focused on his thesis, he takes
readers on action-adventures from New Mexico
to Montreal and rural England. The excursions
are both entertaining and educational. Readers
new to the study of psychopathy will become
quickly acquainted with select scientists who
have focused on trait-based measurement as
well as a few explorations of neuropsychologi-
cal correlates, which I did not discuss because
the nascent findings seems peripheral to the the-
sis. The hypothesis that a set of core traits asso-
ciated with psychopathy may be adaptive when
modulated is interesting and may have some
benefit assuming researchers could establish a
reasonable basis for credibility and reliability in
data from participants lacking a reputation for
honest self-disclosure. Clearly, more than self-
report and interview strategies are needed.
The notion of psychopath as a psychological
construct consisting of a set of extreme traits
fits well with psychological approaches to
understanding human nature. Harvard Psychol-
ogist Stout (2005) offered a different view in
The Sociopath Next Door. And in a recent
review for the New Republic (2012), she chal-
lenges Dutton not only on the light treatment of
the subject but on missing a crucial difference
between the sociopaths and the other 96%,
“they do not have a conscience (Stout, 2005, p.
9).” Assuming that the constructs psychopath
and sociopath are interchangeable, the chal-
lenge of the role of conscience might be of par-
ticular interest to JPC readers. Of course, this
leads to another conundrum, how do we mea-
sure the construct, conscience?
Deriving wisdom from psychopaths may trig-
ger a revulsion response but there are matters of
interest to readers of JPC that deserve a look. I
mentioned considerations of spiritual mental
states and the features of conscience. Perhaps of
greater importance is the assessment of psycho-
pathic traits in Christian leaders, which is vital to
the prevention of abuse within society as a
whole and within churches and religious organi-
zations in particular.
References
Dutton, K. (2010). What psychopaths teach us about
how to succeed. Scientific American. Retrieved from
www.scientificamerican.com
Stout, M. (2005). The sociopath next door. New York,
NY: Broadway Books.
Stout, M. (2012, December). In praise of empty souls –
Can we learn from psychopaths? Retrieved from
www.newrepublic.com/book/review/wisdom-of-
psychopaths-kevin-dutton#
* * *
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permission.

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