Should we have empathy for sociopaths?

My mother-in-law is on the narcissistic spectrum. When she's at home (far away), I feel sorry for her because she's elderly, she's has no insight into why she does the things she does, and she's not capable of acting any differently.

When she's with us and I have to deal with her behaviour, it's exasperating as fuck. It takes a lot of effort to deal with her BS and to try to keep my wife on an even keel, and so my empathy level drops way down.

It's a similar situation with psychopaths and sociopaths: In the abstract, I understand they can't help being the way they are, but if I have to deal with one, I cut them no slack.

It's possible in the abstract to have some sympathy for Ted Bundy and wonder how someone could end up as totally fucked-up as he was and feel some empathy over a wasted life, but that doesn't need to extend to condoning what he did.

I don't know about all of that, but the important thing is to keep those people at a distance.

Yes we should have empathy for them. Just because they may be monsters does not mean we have to be. We can choose to be better. We should have empathy for all. Don’t forgive or condone. But have empathy even if they don’t deserve it.

Have no mercy because it will never be reciprocated ever. At the same time, have no anger. A sociopath that controls her behavior deserves neutral treatment.

It's a curious ethical topic. Do we also pity murderers or arseholes because they're born that way?

Are u talking about psychopaths? I mean a sociopath has empathy but its weak.
In psychopaths empathy is non existent. Psychopaths are thought to be born that way, but sociopaths are thought to be made(severe abuse during childhood).

maybe, you sound a lot like a close friend of mine.

I think you need to look a little deeper.
You watch ABC news tonight.
It says 209 died in a car bomb in yemen today.
Do you feel anything?
No?
Then doesn't that make YOU a sociopath?

There's a fine line between a criminal and a mentally ill patient.

Not sociopaths, have empathy for psychopaths. Fuck sociopaths.

I’m a sociopath and can turn my empathy on and off like a faucet. So really it depends.. me personally I don’t think so.