Psychopathology: Theory and Practice

05 March 2020 – Brett Kahr

Men and women diagnosed as suffering from personality disorders or those described as psychopathic or sociopathic commit the vast majority of serious offences, whether murder, arson, rape, paedophilia, or theft. But many individuals who do not function as formally identified forensic patients will, nevertheless, often perpetrate “unconscious crimes”, expressing violence – often deadly violence – through so-called “accidents”, whether by pushing loved ones down staircases, by transmitting infectious diseases, by killing family members through neglect, and so forth. In this seminar, Professor Brett Kahr will introduce the notion of “sub-clinical psychopathy”, exploring the unconscious motives and the manifestations of those who struggle with profound death wishes and who, in spite of a lack of a formally diagnosable mental illness, will, nevertheless, cause great harm.