You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Psychopathy, sociopathy, antisocial behavior, sadism, etc.—efforts to categorize manifestations of evil have never been simple. This volume brings together a series of relevant studies, from those of Aichhorn and Reich in the early thirties to the more recent work of Symington and Kernberg in the eighties. The long list of significant contributions collected here includes articles by Bowlby, Greenacre, Adelaide Johnson, Helene Deutsch, Winnicott, Betty Joseph, and the editor himself.
What makes this convenient anthology especially valuable is the way Meloy both ties together and adds to prior thinking. Beyond his paper “The Psychology of Wickedness,” he supplies particularly helpful introductions to the two sections of the book, “Development and Psychodynamics” and “Treatment, Risk Management, and Psychodiagnosis.” Much more than prefaces, these provide their own thoughtful integration of both theory and practice.
Despite Meloy's attention to psychopathic grandiosity, his views resemble Kernberg's more than Kohut's. For instance, he writes, “It is difficult to advance a theoretical understanding of psychopathy if pathological narcissism is considered only a developmental fixation” (p. 11). Controversy is inevitable whenever particular positions are taken, yet Meloy has brought together and personally enriched a volume of great value in the continuing psychoanalytic study of evil.