Already a sociopath, or made into one?

[joesteph]

The movie Predators has a quote from Hemingway in the dialogue between two characters. By luck, I found the complete quote and source, what's in bold being in the movie:

"Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter. You will meet them doing various things with resolve, but their interest rarely holds because after the other thing ordinary life is as flat as the taste of wine when the taste buds have been burned off your tongue." (from 'On the Blue Water' in Esquire, April 1936)

It refers to "hunting armed men." I think of men in special forces, those who stage guerrilla attacks, mercenaries, and even the bounty hunters of the Old West.

Are such persons sociopaths? If a sociopath, born one or made into one? "On hold" regarding what they're doing and then open to PTSD?

[Soheir]

I don't see why would they be sociopaths? But I think one becomes a sociopath.

[GeoGiant]

The only experience I have with this type of behavior is a friend of mine that is state trooper. He works as undercover narc and his work takes him away from home for extended periods of time.

As a teen and college student my buddy was always a bit of an adrenaline guy. In his late 20's he would tell me about charging into a meth lab with his gun drawn and he would almost glow with excitement. He told me on more than one occasion that he would do his job for free. By the time he was in his early 30's his carrier was taking off, he was married and owned a beautiful home... but he had developed a short fuse. If he felt like someone took a parking spot from him he would be out of car confronting the other person. If we went out for a beer, it was like he was constantly scanning the room for...? Well he's now he is almost 40, divorced and not real crazy about his job.

So to get back to the initial question, I say would both - born and made. Much like a boxer, you have to have the instinct and the desire to be better. A true sociopath may be able to take a shot without feeling regret however he may lack the self disciple to become a soldier.

[isshinryu5toforever]

If we are talking special forces, those guys are not sociopaths. They are highly trained and highly skilled. They work in small groups and form tight bonds. That is not really sociopathic behavior. I'd say that they are more susceptible to PTSD than most others, because of the nature of their job. They're often times much closer to the people they kill, and they're only human after all.

My guess would be the behavior they exhibit on the battlefield isn't the same behavior they exhibit back home. I just don't think a sociopath would have the discipline to be part of an elite unit. The training is brutal and long, and that short fuse would cause them to wash out.

As far as being born or being made, I'd say it's both. I am sure that killing people for a living doesn't do a lot of good for your mind, but there are also people who exhibit emotionlessness and a great ability to lie and conceal their feelings from others at a very young age.

[bushido_man96]

I don't think people are born that way. I think they make decisions to become that way, or things affect them early on that lead them into it.

[Liver Punch]

It's the age old psychology question of nature vs. nurture. I think it's a bit of both. Some people could do it and never like it, they could hate themselves for it. Other people seem predisposed to taking a shine to it.