Was Jesus a psychopath?
According to a top psychologist at the University of Oxford, he may well have been.
Dr Kevin Dutton from the Department of Experimental Psychology has ranked the psychopathic traits of global leaders. Saddam Hussein tops the list with Donald Trump coming in a close fourth ahead of Adolf Hitler and behind Henry VIII and Idi Amin.
Before Democrats start cheering, their candidate Hillary Clinton also makes the top 15 ahead of both Emperor Nero and Oliver Cromwell.
But perhaps the most surprising entry into the top 10 leaders with phychopathic traits is Jesus Christ, who comes in eighth. He is tied with another key figure in Christianity's history – his own disciple Saint Paul.
But Dutton insists the list is not as outrageous as it may first appear, and that psychopathy is not necessarily a bad trait. He said that everyone is on the spectrum of psychopathy and both great and terrible leaders typically score higher than the general population.
"When most people think of psychopaths they think of Ted Bundy, Hannibal Lecter," he said. "We are referring though to a distinct subset of traits in a specific context."
Dutton lists several psychopathic tendencies which have both positive and negative components. Some of the "positive" traits that make up a psychopath are:
- Social influence; psychopaths tend to have a following and be able to persuade people to their cause.
- Fearlessness; they don't seem to be afraid of what others would see as dangerous ventures.
- Stress immunity; they appear to be able to ride traumas with ease.
The more "negative" traits Dutton and his team highlight include:
- Coldheartedness; many psychopaths such as Hitler appeared to show now care for peoples' suffering.
- Machiavellian egocentricity; often psychopaths are completely dedicated to their goals, irrespective of others' concerns.
- Blame externalisation; rarely do psychopaths blame themselves for problems.
- Lack of planning; psychopaths have a tendency to not think of the consequences.
- Rebellion or non-conformity; the religious leaders of the time would certainly have viewed Jesus in this way.
Jesus' inclusion in the top 10 demonstrates that the definition of a psychopath is more subtle than it first seems, said Dutton.
"Jesus was pretty fearless, rebellious and ruthless. But he was low on Machiavellian egocentricity and extremely low on cold-heartedness."
To score highly as a psychopath, one doesn't need to have all of these characteristics but leaders tend to have more than others, said Dutton.
"None of these traits is necessarily problematic in themselves. At the right levels in the right context they can be useful. Certain jobs and professions by their very nature require them higher than average, and politics is absolutely one of those professions," said Dutton in the Times.
"Take the skill set needed for a world leader. You have to make tough decisions under a lot of pressure. You face crises ranging from the threats posed by rogue nations to natural disasters, and you've got to be prepared to send young people to war in the knowledge they will lose lives. All the while you have to be able to feign empathy with voters that you don't have, and have supreme self-confidence."
Do you demonstrate psychpathic traits? Take Dutton's test here.
