“From what I can gather, as a Psychopath you never feel Guilt at all. Is this true?”
Yes, it is true, Psychopaths do not feel Guilt. They do not have the required Neuropsychological basis for feeling this Emotion, and that’s how it is also for me. Thus I have never experienced Guilt… that is, I haven’t experienced Guilt as an Emotion or Feeling.
To me Guilt is not an Emotion but a position that one can be in. Opposite Remorse, to me being Guilty is something you are, not something you feel. You can be more or less aware of being Guilty and accept that you are Guilty to a higher or lesser degree, or you can refuse to accept it.
To me acknowledging Guilt is not an issue at all. It is not a problem and I have never felt bad about being Guilty. Being aware that I am Guilty of something doesn’t change how I feel. It doesn’t make me sad and it doesn’t make me think I should be punished. Being Guilty is just that: Being aware that I am Guilty of something.
Where being Guilty can make a Difference to me is in what it means in terms of Social Repercussions. This is another fundamental difference between the feeling we call Guilt and the feeling we call Remorse. Remorse is personal, you feel Remorse toward the person you wronged. Feeling Guilty, and being Guilty, is directly related to one’s social state and therefore involves elements of personal implications (“What will happen to me?”, “How severely will I/should I be punished?” or “Do I deserve to be accepted by Society?”. The feeling we call Remorse cares only about the wronged party, not about society or the question of one’s guilt, nor about being punished or about one’s own future standing in Society.
Because of these differences and because of the non-emotional way that I experience guilt, awareness of being Guilty is for me accompanied by thoughts about whether I can avoid punishment, and if so, how will I achieve that, etc.
Some argue that Guilt is a Selfish Emotion. Personally I think this is somewhat over simplified, as surely there are positive aspects of worrying about your standing in society (if f.x. you have family). I also refuse to go along with the notion that self interest is always negative. My argument is that if self-interest is negative by definition, then it must imply that everybody are bad, because why is it bad to care about the well being of someone who is a good and talented person who can contribute to society? Surely there is reason in caring about yourself if you think you deserve to get a family in the future, no?
Psychopath or not, I have an unwavering belief in my own Goodness and Abilities. But I don’t stop there. I am actually quite convinced that I am Great, and whereas I think this is probably a function of my interaction with the Culture I live in, I think the sense of being Good and Capable must be the Natural State of any living being I am quite convinced that the poisonous ideology that preaches Self Denial, Self Doubt and Selflessness is the Result of an Evolutionary Accident which will eventually be corrected as we continue the Journey of Existence.
