Yeah I think they might exist. Personality and environment are important but I think to some extent we choose to feed some traits in ourselves more than others.

I once had a disturbing conversation with a colleague in which he seriously asserted that doing evil was more interesting and rewarding than doing good. A few months later he turned out to be a manipulative serial sexual harasser who was threatening to ruin young women's careers.

To me, that's an example of a genuinely bad person. I mean he pretty obviously had APD but he was also actively and consciously choosing to lean into it.

[–] absGeekNZ 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You have to wonder what motivates those people.

[–] liv 2 points 1 year ago

Idk on one hand I can't understand it at all but on the other hand from my reading around the subject since then, I think what motivates them are some of the motivations we might have too, like a desire to feel special, a desire to experience a thrill, a desire to have power and agency in our lives.

Only with them the channels they choose to achieve it are different and their lack of empathy puts a lot of options on the table for them that are just unthinkable to us.

After my run in with that guy I read up on APD and con artists so I would be able to spot it sooner in future. There are plenty of people with APD who don't choose to nurture that side of themselves.