A society that stresses conformity, individualism, and
hedonism may create confusion and frustration in its members and, at times,
plunge them into a moral crisis. Such a type of society reduces reason to mere
calculation. “Reason can [then] impose no limits on the pursuit of pleasure,
[or] on the immediate gratification of every desire, no matter how perverse,
insane, criminal, or merely immoral”. Without minimizing personality factors, one could
opine that such a social climate breeds psychopathic behaviors and, at times,
serious criminal acting out. Cultural context in which the killer and victims
live may be a cofactor in the genesis of serial murder. They stated that
“socialization is unfortunately saturated with norms, values, beliefs and
behavioral models that carry strong potential for Antisocial behavior should be
viewed as a continuum of increasing degrees of psychopathy. Such behaviors
range from the simple antisocial personality disorder to the psychopathic
personality disorder, with its severe antisocial conduct. The socially
destructive hostility of a psychopath is often an unconscious means to overcome
feelings of worthlessness. It gives persons who are filled with anger a
spurious sense of pseudo-omnipotence that allows them to control and dispose of
their innocent and unsuspecting fellow humans. Such psychopathic behaviors are
strictly connected to the widespread phenomenon of serial killing. In its worst
manifestations psychopathic behavior becomes malignant, similar to malignant narcissism
normalizing violence in interpersonal relationships”. Psychopathy is a social
construct that describes a combination of personality traits and socially
deviant behaviors. The psychopath has been described as a selfish, impulsive, aggressive, loveless,
remorseless, callous, two-dimensional person—a person able to use emotions when
it is to his advantage. A distinction, however, should be made between the
ordinary psychopath (who acts antisocially, is frequently impulsive, and whose
crimes are characterized by an affective reaction, consciously related to
actively pursuing materialistic gains) and the malignant type of psychopath (a
clearly predatory, violent individual whose goal is the gratification of
vengeful or sexual sadistic fantasies). Generally, the serial killer is a
lonely person, cold, distant, callous, and ruthless in his violence. He entices
his victims with an apparently charming but deceitful and manipulative
approach. His purpose is to achieve complete control over them. Contrary to the
common psychopath, the malignant psychopath/serial killer is able to control
his impulsivity. Although able to control his impulses, he uses his sadistic
fantasies in the construction of a murderous scenario, typical of a predator.
He is able to organize, program, and direct his destructive impulses, unleashing
them at the most opportune moment for achieving what he wants. The malignant
psychopath/serial killer has difficulty forming lasting bonds with others,
exhibiting a deficit in object relations. Psychoanalysts theorize that this is a
consequence of his misperception of his mother’s behavior during the infantile period.
That could well explain this killer’s lack of empathy, his ambivalence and
noncaring attitude toward others. Psychopaths do not have a deficit in
mentalizing but appear to lack the emotional apparatus to feel empathy or
guilt. This is typical of the malignant psychopath/serial killer who, even
though aware of the feelings of his victims, disregards them. Indeed, it is
through the reification of the victims that he is able to carry out the
sadistic torture and killing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
summarized the personality traits of the serial killer as “a sense of social
isolation, preference for autoerotic activities and fetishes, rebelliousness,
aggression, chronic lying, lack of trust and commitment to a world of rules and
regulations, [and a] personal affective life dependent on fantasies” Typical of
serial killers are sadism, narcissism, and loneliness. During the 18th century,
the erotic and licentious writings of the libertine Marquis de Sade shocked the
world with their descriptions of cruel sadistic violence and unbound perverted
lust. De Sade believed that instincts are the motivating force in life and that
pleasure is the most important goal for which one should aim. His books about
debauchery and acts of sexual violence were written while he was in jail for
crimes of poisoning and sodomy, and his life ended in a lunatic asylum. The
infliction of pain seems to be part of the complete mastery of another person.
As one killer stated, the most radical aim of a sadistic act is to make the
person suffer because there is no greater power over another person than
inflicting pain. Nevertheless, it has been hypothesized that rather than to
express cruelty in and of itself, the object of sadism is to procure strong
emotions. Many of the fantasies found in
the serial killer, as stated above, are sadistic sexual fantasies. Sexual
fantasies, at times violent in type, are also present in juvenile offenders
and, when frequent, may degenerate into sadistic sexual fantasies. In such
cases, they are sometimes the forerunners of homicidal acting out. The
gratuitous cruelty of sadism is possible because of insufficient control by the
basic mechanism of defense. It can be theorized that the behavior of the
sadistic, power- and control-driven serial killer reflects the conduct of a curious
child during the demolition of his toys. A narcissistic trauma suffered by the
child during the process of individuation does not enable him to tame the
archaic, grandiose, and exhibitionistic self, which is necessary for wholesome
development. This could explain the serial killer’s deeply rooted destructive
hostility and his feelings of omnipotence. Narcissistic tendencies, part of the
grandiose are often present in the serial killer. Originally described by
Freud, narcissism was later subdivided into primary and secondary narcissism.
Primary narcissism is seen as the investment of libidinal energy in the
achievement of object love, empathy, and possible creativity; secondary
narcissism is the withdrawing of the original psychic libidinal energy from
objects back to the ego. The latter mechanism seems to be present in the
psychodynamics of serial killers. They are indeed not only pathologically narcissistic
but unrealistically grandiose, and their exaggerated self-importance is fragile
and sensitive to shame. Serial killers generally are basically lonely persons.
Loneliness appears as a feeling and a state of separation from others. Preconscious
awareness of the immediacy and accessibility of others, as well as a memory of
past togetherness, are prerequisite for loneliness. Infrequently loneliness
involves some kind of choice and willful separation. Loneliness is an ancient
nemesis. It can involve excruciating physical as well as mental suffering and
is implicated in numerous somatic, psychosomatic, and psychiatric diseases. It
is a mundane yet arcane human affliction that is often hazardous to health and
hostile to happiness. There are distinctive types of loneliness, such as
emotional (Eros loneliness), social (friendship loneliness), cultural, ethical,
ontological, existential, communicative, epistemological, and metaphysical.
Thus, extreme loneliness may lead to internal hardening, social and moral numbing,
indifference, and anger. Philosophically speaking, loneliness has been
described as the defining feature of human awareness and the fundamental
question of human existence. However, not every lonely human being is able to
make the step from loneliness to communication. Longlasting loneliness may lead
to the painful belief in one’s inability to be a part of humankind and to
severe distortion of reality. One result of social isolation is an associated lack of the possibility to utilize
the constructive psychosocial, emotional, and moral feedback of others. In a
retrospective study of a Dutch population of violent, forensic psychiatric patients
(n = 634), it was found that a systematic distortion of reality, as well as too
much contact with the harsh dimensions of reality (when these negative
experiences concerning reality differ fundamentally from the reality
experiences of other people), may result in pathological loneliness, social isolation,
and devastating feelings of being cast out and thrown away. However, severe
social isolation and correlated loneliness may also be the consequence of a
lack of social support, neglect and/or emotional/physical abuse, mental disorders
and associated cognitive impairments, and social-emotional and moral incapacities.
People who are lonely are bound to focus on their
inner conflicts; and because of their tendency to withdrawing from others,
their ability to express love and warmth in a normal relationship is greatly
diminished. Deviant sexual and nonsexual fantasies take the place of normal
socialization, and at times they become destructive and fuel antisocial acting
out. Many psychopathic killers verbalize feelings of loneliness together with low
self-esteem and feelings of shame for not being able to live up to family and
societal expectations.
Acknowledgements:
The Police Department;
https://www.politie.nl/mijnbuurt/politiebureaus/05/burgwallen.html
and a Chief Inspector – Mr. Erik Akerboom
©
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