But it's creepy to consider the possibility that it's not. What if this is like autism? We used to believe that autism was caused by bad parenting, and it's not. Some people are really just born wired differently. What if psychopathy is like that?
I think it's possible to be more creeped out than is warranted by that parallel. Most people with autism are noticeably unusual, yet many are able to learn to function in society. (And I don't know whether it's many or most who can learn to function well in society--the rise in new diagnoses may be attributable to the ones who are most able to be helped, though not many get the help they need because its costs a lot.)
I would bet that most of the low-empathy people described in the article have capability to learn and improve, and the experts in the article state that they're hoping so too. I don't think either biology or parenting will turn out to tell the whole story; both matter tremendously.
DeeDee
