Psychoanalysis in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment Essay examples

My sociopath that I choose to do my research on is Edmund Kemper III aka “ The Co-Ed Killer”. Edmund Kemper was born on December 18, 1948, in Burbank, California by Clarnell Stage and Edmund Kemper Jr .Kemper was a very intelligent person with an IQ of 136 but choose a darker side of life and became a psychopathic serial killer and necrophile who killed 10 people including his mother, and his grandparents. Edmund childhood wasn 't the greatest with his violent alcoholic parents who separated at the age of nine. Ed was then forced to live with his mother because his father wouldn 't accept him as his son. Kemper mother who suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder would constantly disrespect,humiliate, and

When most people hear the word psychopath their mind forms a picture of a wild-eyed, rambling, lunatic who is often restrained in a straitjacket. The media has helped this belief along the way with slasher horror films and grisly CSI episodes depict these strange humans. However, the average psychopath is much harder to spot than most people believe. In fact, most of them are extremely difficult to distinguish from ordinary humans. They outwardly appear normal and many do not find it difficult to blend into common society. They can interact with others, hold successful jobs, and effectively keep themselves out of trouble. Most are not the sadistic killers many people think they are. Psychopaths are people born with problems (Bartol 105) or

First, let me introduce you to the main character himself otherwise known as the murderer in this story. Raskolnikov is the main protagonist of the novel, making the story in his point of view. He is very alienated from society due to his

Sociopathy is a definitive wayward behavior that is considered to be strayed from the norm. Sociopaths are understood to behave in ways that are out of the ordinary or outside of the acceptable norm (Eiseberg, 1995). In essence, sociopaths are overbearingly preconditioned to perform excesses of certain behaviors. Sociopaths often fall under the category of moral outlaws (Joana & Abigail, 2014). Psychologists have noted that psychopathic tendencies are inert. They can be triggered by brutal upbringing, or life-threatening or -changing experiences (Marsh, 2013). For a trait that is so mystifying, it leaves to ask, how are sociopaths created? How do people with this trait get to become this way? A major theme of this literature review finds that there are still large gaps of understanding when it comes to the clinical study of what makes a sociopathic mind work.

This article tries to sum up the causes of Antisocial Personality Disorder. Though, researchers have not found an exact cause of Antisocial Personality Disorder (Martens, 2000). Antisocial Personality Disorder is known to be directed toward specific behaviors and criminal act instead of looking at personality traits and psychopathological aspects (Martens, 2000). People that develop Antisocial Personality Disorder are more likely to suffer from substance abuse disorder, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia (Martens, 2000). Researchers have done different studies especially with brain injuries, which could trigger

This report will describe the symptoms, suspected causes, diagnosis process, treatment, and prevention of antisocial personality disorder.

Aggression during an episode that is out of proportion to the triggering event. The aggressive episodes are not premeditated. They are not performed for vengeance, money, power, or other gain.

Often times in literature, we are presented with quintessential characters that are all placed into the conventional categories of either good or bad. In these pieces, we are usually able to differentiate the characters and discover their true intentions from reading only a few chapters. However, in some remarkable pieces of work, authors create characters that are so realistic and so complex that we are unable to distinguish them as purely good or evil. In the novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky develops the morally ambiguous characters of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov to provide us with an interesting read and to give us a chance to evaluate each character.

Individual factors: prior history of violence, aggression, or self harm, diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, or oppositional defiant disorder, high impulsivity, substance use, lack of empathy, psychosis, early puberty and precocious sexualized behaviour (particularly in girls).

Dostoevsky’s believes in existentialism, and the idea that individual freedom is essential to the development of the mind (Copleston 165). He speaks through his characters by presenting them as “continually defeated as a result of their choices” ( “Existentialism”). Though Raskolnikov is allowed to make his own decisions he ended up making the wrong ones. He is forced to face his consequences of the murders he committed. Dostoevsky’s blend of philosophy with the novel allows

The concept of psychopathy originated in the 1800s to describe individuals that consistently failed to conform to societal norms and exhibited antisocial behavior that did not fit the concept of mental illness of the time period. While, psychopathy was a common term used to describe individuals suffering from this disorder other descriptions were coined such as “Pinel’s term “manie sans delvie” meaning mania without delirium in the 1700s, to describe patents whose ‘affective faculties were disordered’” or Pritchard’s term “moral insanity” (Ogloff 520). In the 1930’s Partridge argued that psychopathy was a social rather than a mental disorder and proposed that the concept of sociopathy be introduced as a more accurate description. The American Psychological Association adopted Partridge’s term for their Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel in 1952. However, in 1968 the American Psychological Association changed the diagnostic label from sociopath to “personality disorder, antisocial” for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel – II that continued through to the DSM - III in 1980 and the DSM - III-R in 1987 and the DSM - IV in 1994. Today the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel categorizes antisocial personality disorder as a personality disorder and it is named as such. Unfortunately, not much research has been conducted

Of all the psychiatric disorders, none are more chilling to the world then the psychopaths and sociopaths. These two disorders, categorized as antisocial personality disorders, bring about the absolute worse people and killers that the world has ever known. The infamous serial killers, the people who do the unimaginable, were all psychopaths. The ability of these people to do what they do and know that what they are doing is wrong, is perhaps one of the most chilling and shocking characteristic of these people. Psychopaths and sociopaths are very often thought by most to be the same disorder, yet they are different when classified by many psychiatric researchers. The people classified as psychopaths and sociopaths are separated by one main difference, and that is if they were born with a lack of the ability to empathize or if they were affected as children in a traumatic environment. Although both of these horrible disorders derive from a different area, the reality is that they are unpredictable, undetectable and most importantly, they can be very dangerous.

The biology and environment play a huge role in these offender’s lives. The interaction between neurological and having a disadvantaged environment can put them at a higher risk of becoming an offender. These offenders can be seen as psychopaths because of the factors that are a play. Throughout their childhood they begin to have antisocial conduct. Then during adolescence they begin to have cumulative consequences and in adulthood they start to commit criminal behavior.

These theories of aggression are the most plausible because they account for both types of aggression, reactive and instrumental. People learn how to act from society, and use what is believed to be the most efficient way to achieve desired results. This can be a reaction to coerce someone into stopping an action, or instrumental, to force one to do something. Cues from the past, such as seeing a weapon that has been seen countless times on T.V. instead of a badminton racket, increases the aggressive reactions from people (Anderson).

In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, the murder of the pawnbroker bears little significance when compared to the 'punishment' that Raskolnikov endures. The murder is the direct result of Raskolnikov's Ubermensch theory. Though it takes a while for Raskolnikov to realize the profound mistake in his theory and in his logic, his tedious yet prolific journey eventually leads him to redemption. Suffering, guilt and societal alienation prompt Raskolnikov to reject his Ubermensch theory and ultimately achieve redemption. Through Raskolnikov's character, Dostoevsky reveals that the psychological punishment inflicted by an unethical action is more effective in leading to self-realization than any physical punishment.