Evil Genes
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DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
defined, 47
diagnostic criteria for personality disorders
antisocial, 50–51
borderline, 158–59
narcissistic, 244
distinction between Axis I and Axis II, 133–34
exclusion of sadism from, 52
explanatory listing of the ten Axis II personality disorders, divided into clusters A, B, and C, 134–36
lack of connection with Machiavellianism, 47
problems with “clinically significant” strategy for diagnosis, 162–63
Duesberg, Peter (Inventing the AIDS Virus), denies standard treatment necessary for AIDS, 306n–307n
Djukic, Slavoljub (Milosevic and Marković: A Lust for Power), 155
Dunlap, “Chainsaw” Al
presented Sunbeam as having stunning profitability when it was going broke, 294
repulsive personality of, 30
duplicity. See deceitfulness; gaslighting; lying; manipulation
Durkheim, Emile, 50
Duvalier, François “Papa Doc” (Haitian dictator), 286
hypomanic qualities of, 314
intelligence, enjoyment of torture, 311
dyslexia, 57
dysphoria in borderline personality disorder, 158
eating disorders. See also Diana, Princess
anorexia
5-HT2A and, 71
BDNF alleles and, 78
borderline personality disorder and, 140
Carolyn's, 142, 142n
cognitive dysfunction, spiritual states, attempts to self-medicate and, 142n
bulimia
BDNF alleles and, 78
borderline personality disorder and, 140
serotonin transporters and, 73
stress, genetics, and, 66
Eden, Anthony (British prime minister), duped by Hitler, 315
Effective, Efficient Professor, The (Philip Wankat), the importance of remembering names, 312
effortful control, its heritability and relation to negative affectivity, 201
Egan, Michael, work at NIH, 66–67, 363n9
Einstein, Albert, Theory of Relativity was nearly named Invariance Theory, 322n
Einzatgruppen, Nazi, 303n
emergenesis (emergenic phenomena)
general explanation of, 83–85
of Machiavellian leadership, 314
“emote control.” See also emotion
borderline personality disorder and defaults in “emote control” system
limbic system, 193–95
overview, 193
comprehensive discussion of various aspects of, 187–97
defined, 187
McCloskey, Jim, as an example of decision making using “emote control,” 188–89
political partisanship and, 189–90
role in abetting Machiavellians, 333
emotion. See also “emote control”
cerebral cortex and effect of, 181–82, 186
delusional thinking and, 304
evolutionary model for emotional behavior, 258–59
executive control and, 199–202
role in shaping “rational” thinking, 187–92
role of limbic system in, 182–83, 186
emotional contagion
in Ceausescu's Romania, 270–71
Enron's top-down mandated culture of greed, 295
in Hitler's underlings, 305
an increase in Machiavellians in a population could increase Machiavellian behavior in everyone through, 270–71
in Stalin's underlings, 309
worship of Mao, 242, 252
emotional experience, deficient, as dimensional trait of psychopathy, 167
emotionality. See affective instability
empathy
abstract reasoning and anterior cingulate cortex, relation to, 97–98, 100, 182
lack of in personality disorders
antisocial, 51
borderline, 142, 149, 228
narcissistic, 135, 244
people
Mao, 225–27, 227n
Milosevic, 162, 166
Stalin, 30
psychopathy, 51, 56
schizoid personality disorder, 135
medial prefrontal cortex, role in, 99
mirror neurons and, 104–105
Williams syndrome's abundance of, 98–99
emptiness, as DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder, 158
“end justifies means” behavior, 204
endophenotype. See phenotype, intermediate
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 211–12
English speakers versus Chinese speakers, neurological differences of, 175–76
Enron
compared with sinister aspects of other groups, 30
corrupt rise and fall of, 294–98
difficulty in stopping Enron's illegal activities despite flagrant nature, 332
environment, effect on personality. See nurture
envy, 269
a DSM-IV trait of narcissistic personality disorder, 244
is possibly a useful, genetically linked trait, 269
lack of in Alfred Russel Wallace, 292
in Mao's China—creates danger and induces people not to be creative, 215
Epstein, Brian, manic-depressive “drama queen” who launched Beatles, 291
ethics
imaging studies related to, 100
systems of ethics can be ineffectual, even counterproductive, 335
“Evening of Russian Poetry, An,” excerpt from Vladimir Nabokov's poem, 174
evil
allusion to possible benefits of, 32
defined, 321–22
and free will, 328–29
genes (in that these genes can contribute to personality disorders as well as positive personality traits), 69–83, 85–87, 314–15
older beliefs about personality and, 37–38
questionable nature of Philip Zimbardo's conclusions about evil, described in The Lucifer Effect, 303n–304n
some children born with marked (genetic) tendency toward, 57–58
evolution
Baldwinian, 263–64
evolutionary benefits of psychopathic traits, 254–56, 387–88n2
evolutionary model for emotional behavior, 258–59
evolutionary perspective on borderline personality disorder, “psychiatrist Regina Pally,” 282
general definition and discussion of, 65
gradual development of rational as well as emotional capacities in humans, 187
“human cultural and behavioral diversity can be understood in the same way as biological diversity” (David Sloan Wilson), 16
Laura Betzig's Despotism and Differential Reproduction: preferential reproductive opportunities of Machiavellians, 268–70
occurs much more quickly than had been supposed, 261–63
executive attentional network
anterior cingulate cortex and the, 182, 202
Carolyn and her, 326–27
Joseph Newman's work on psychopathy as a form of learning disability, 103, 326–27
reticular activating system, poliovirus, and the, 114–16
what of those who don't have ability to focus attention on self and change, 328–29
executive control
in clinical versus subclinical borderline personality disorder, 199–202
coexisting borderline-schizotypal types show gray matter reduction in anterior and posterior cingulates, 227
flowchart describing pathways of, 196
role of DARPP-32 gene in, 82–83
executive dysfunction in
antisocial children and adults, 93–94
borderline personality disorder, 232
exhibitionism
Mao's, 223–24
narcissistic personality disorder and, 135
of Shockley, William, Nobel Prize winner, 290
>
extroversion and D4DR, 82
Eysenck, Hans J. (The Psychology of Politics), 46
Fairbank, John, Harvard professor, as Mao's dupe, 241
Fastow, Andrew, Machiavellianism trumps incompetence in CFO Fastow's rise and Enron's fall, 295–97
father of author
Alzheimer's disease of, 25, 114
love for Carolyn, 122, 126, 323–25
photographs of, 25, 123, 324
Faustina, wife of Marcus Aurelius, 275, 275n
fear
and development of conscience, 95
lack of in psychopaths and relation to genetics, 93
serotonin transporters and inability to suppress, 74–75
Williams syndrome phobias, 99
Feynman, Richard: “you are the easiest person to fool,” 307n
Fischer, Louis (Gandhi biographer), 298–299
Fleishman, Jeffrey (journalist), description of defiant, arrogant Milosevic, 153
forgiveness, affiliated with activation of specific areas of brain, 102
framing lens, 176
Frank, Anne, diary of, 27
Frankfurter, Felix, Supreme Court Justice, on the Holocaust: “I cannot believe you,” 321
Franklin, Rosalind, codiscoverer of structure of DNA, 290, 392n13
free will and evil, 328–29, 330n
“frequency dependence”
allusion to (without use of term), 256
discussion related to, 259–60
Friedel, Robert O.
Borderline Personality Disorder, Demystified, 136
dimensional description of borderline personality disorder, 164
discussion of borderline sister, Denise, 136
Friedman, Russell, “You can't love someone into mental health,” 320
Fukuyama, Francis (Trust), 219
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) defined, 90
Galileo, 306
gambling, as addictive behavior, 233
Gandhi, Mahatma
“had a violent nature,” took pains to control, 298–99, 328
hypomanic qualities and remarkable memory, 313
as unsuccessful role model for Kosovar resistance against Serbs, 169
gaslighting. See also lying; manipulation
defined, 146–47
as demonstrated by
Hitler and his henchmen, 305
Milosevic, 164–65
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and, 182
etiology of term, 146n
Gaslighting…(Theodore Dorpat), 147
theta rhythms may be thrown off by, 148
used as coping charactistic in
antisocial personality disorder, 209
borderline personality disorder, 137, 209
used for successful manipulation and control, 147, 250–52
Gates, Bill
ability to argue competently with him is prized, 296n
philanthropy (with Melinda Gates), 319
temper, 300
Gates, Melinda, philanthropy of (with Bill Gates), 319
genes (alleles of genes are also listed here)
alleles, explanation of, 63
chromosome 17, illnesses associated with genes on, 64
copy number variants, 63
explanation of basics about, 60–65
future reengineering of, 329–30
and personality
“evil” (in that these genes can contribute to personality disorders as well as to positive personality traits), 69–83, 85–87
no single gene causes a personality disorder, 68
older beliefs about personality and genes, 37–38, 38n
overview of effect on personality, 59
religious predisposition, 59, 59n
poliovirus infects only those with certain genes, 111
Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) model, 71
specific genes and alleles
5-HT1B role in aggression, 71
5-HT2A role in self-mutilation, anorexia, and suicide, 71
5-HT3A influence on amygdala and reaction time, 71–72
ASPM (cognition), 262
BDNF, related to neural growth, 77–78
clock, related to sleep cycles, 233
COMT, “warrior” or “worrier,” 78–80
D4DR and novelty seeking, extroversion, 82
DARPP-32, intelligence and schizophrenia, 82–83
MAO-A, helps break down neurotransmitters, 54, 80–82
microcephalin (cognition), 262
related to the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), 82
related to the hormones vasopressin, oxytocin that help produce feelings of love, 83
serotonin-related, 69–75
stress's effect on, 65–66
genetics. See also genes
family discord flowing from, 60
fundamental overview of, 60–65
genetic drift, 65
“genetic stamping,” large effect of certain historical individuals, 267–70
“imaging genetics,” 67–69
intermediate phenotype and, 66–69
loss of olfactory and detoxification-related genes, 262, 262n
of personality traits and disorders
affective instability, heritability, 86
impulsivity, heritability, 86
lack of fear, 93
narcissism (very strongly heritable), 244, 287
negative affectivity and effortful control, 201
psychopathy, 55–58
sadism, 52
schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder, 227
separate heritability of borderline traits for mood disorders, impulsivity, and cognitive dysfunction, 206
Williams syndrome, 99
of susceptibility to polio, 111, 327
various populations have genetics adapted to cold or to high altitudes, 262
vitamin D and reshaping of genetics in northern climes, 263
Wiener's theory of Jewish versus Christian traditions and effect on, 86–87
genetic stamping, 267–68
Genghis Khan
and his roadies spread their genes, 267
surprisingly benevolent and visionary leader, 286
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (Jack Weatherford), a highpoint of compulsive biography inhalation, 286n
genocide
complicity of the United Nations in, 332
do well-intentioned policies of appeasement lead to, 307
Milosevic's role in, 156n, 162, 169–71
occurs in part because people can't believe Machiavellians, with their neurologically based sinister underpinnings, exist, 321–22
questionable nature of Philip Zimbardo's conclusions related to genocide, described in The Lucifer Effect, 303n–304n
Samantha Power's “A Problem from Hell,” how and why genocide happens, 321
genome
defined and discussed, 62, 67, 68, 69n, 84
human genome project, 34, 38, 290
genotype, explanation of, 64
Geoghan, John, pedophile priest, 107
George, Bill, on Warren Buffet's profound effect on ethics in business, 319
Giocangga, progenitor of Qing dynasty, and genetic stamping, 267
Glad, Betty, “Why Tyrants Go Too Far,” 34
Gladwell, Malcolm
dark side of Blink and relation to “emote control,” 379n20
strengths and weaknesses of imaging, 367–68n2
“gold diggers,” 271–78
Goldhagen, Daniel Jonah (Hitler's Willing Executioners), 303n
gossip
importance of “gossip” magazines in reporting on Machiavellians, 251
“office gossip” and its role in alerting about Machiavellians, 337–38
gray matter
in autistics is increased, in pathological liars is reduced, 106
differences in psychopaths’, 106
loss with one form of schizophrenia, 205
> Great Leap Forward, 226, 234–36
“Great Society” legislation, 258
Great Terror, The (Robert Conquest), or, I Told You So, You Fucking Fools, 28n
guilt. See also empathy
abstract reasoning, relation to, 100
affiliated with activation of specific areas of brain, 102
Guinness Book of World Records and Ismail the Bloodthirsty, 268
gullibility. See naivete
Halifax, Lord: “His virtues have done more harm than the vices of hundreds of others,” 292
Hall, Matthew Henry: cartoon “You're the only peson in this department I trust,” 44–45
Halliday, Jon (Mao biographer), 218–19, 239–40
Hanks, Tom, in relation to neuroimaging study on partisanship, 189–90
Hardy, Jason, Ashkenazi genetic mutations and intelligence, 87
Hare, Robert
comorbidity of psychopathy with other disorders, 168
“corporate psychopaths,” 106, 108
sadism's wider context, 53–54
Harpending, Henry: Ashkenazi genetic mutations and intelligence, 87
Harris, Judith Rich
Harris's Nurture Assumption laid profound case for influence of genes on personality, 37, 175
higher-status members of group have more influence, 270
No Two Alike, 56n
Hauser, Marc, studies of neurological features of morality, 322
Heller, Leland, comments on mood swings in borderlines, 230
heritability. See genetics and also individual personality disorders
He Zizhen, Mao's third wife: difficult life ending in madness, 221–22, 226–27, 227n
Hill, Christopher, Ambassador, 165
Hilton, Paris, and family, 273, 337
hippocampus
in borderline personality disorder
differences may explain hypersensitivity to emotional cues, 194, 206
smaller, 194, 205
differences in unsuccessful versus successful psychopaths, 105
enlarged in London taxi drivers, 176
illustrations of, 93, 101, 183
murderers have “turbocharged,” 97
portrayed in flowchart form (as “Hippocampal Formation”), 185, 196
Historia Augusta, 274–75
histrionic personality disorder
defined, 135
illustration showing overlap with borderline personality disorder, 208
MAO-A in “cluster B” personality disorders, 80
Hitchens, Christopher (The Missionary Position), 285
Hitler, Adolf
ability to dupe credulous, 315
affective instability (rage), 299–300, 305
brief overview compared to other dictators, 28, 298, 315
control, desire for, 308–309
extraordinary memory of, 311–12
father's abuse, 218
hypomanic qualities, 314