Maggie's Farm

Probably there's a connection between our inner voice, our boundaries of conscience, and our feelings of guilt. When confronted with a moral dilemma, we have to choose between the pleasure we would feel now from doing the wrong thing, and the the guilt that we would feel later. Psychopaths completely discount feelings of guilt, because the memory of doing the wrong thing remains pleasurable. Narcissism probably also plays a role, because cruelty is actually an expression of superiority. So why feel guilty when hurting an inferior? Our inner voice is supposed to moderate evil by chastising immoral conduct, but if harming inferiors is not a moral crime to a person who believes that he is in a different category, then the inner voice won't have anything to say. The boundaries of conscience have not been violated, because there's nothing wrong with hurting sub-humans. Psychotic behavior, in itself, becomes a source of narcissistic supply. So the real question in treatment is whether or not a person can be taught to be earnest. The logic flow of a psychopath depends on cynicism, it's the idea that lesser people are also worse people; so they deserve whatever they get. But earnest people must really listen to their inner voice, because they feel that their actions should be a genuine expression of who they are. And of course, no one wants to feel guilty, so the act of being earnest is also an attempt to avoid actions which would cause unpleasant feelings. The boundaries of conscience become clear, because of the self-examining nature of trying to be true to oneself. Earnestness, sincerity, and naturalness are all connected. Children are very earnest, because there's no assumed persona to hold them back. So if you can promote earnestness in childhood, to sincerity in teenage years, then hopefully you'll get adults who are naturally nice people. Of course, for this to work, children and teenagers must be allowed to decide for themselves what to believe. They can't be told what to believe.