History Main / MoralSociopathy

By definition, sociopaths are largely or totally incapable of normal levels of guilt, compassion, empathy, or remorse -- thus, whenever they subscribe to a moral code, said code will either be reinterpreted into something rather more amoral than usual or simply be amoral from the outset. They might well feel "bad" or uncomfortable about doing something they think is wrong, or that goes against their code, [[IgnoredEpiphany but they won't necessarily be able to feel guilty about that and will shrug it off as just one of those things.]] Or [[IDidWhatIHadToDo justify to themselves what they did]] as meeting TheNeedsOfTheMany, or what have you; no matter how much InsaneTrollLogic they have to employ to reach their conclusion. This guilt-free confidence of theirs in their own beliefs, abilities, and logic chains can come across as highly charismatic to a lot of the people around them, so expect TheCharmer or TheSocialExpert to come with the package, even if they openly display their blind spots.

The psychologist Andrzej M. Łobaczewski described something somewhat similar to this as a "schizoidal psychopath"[[note]]Not to be confused with schizoid personality disorder, which is a completely unrelated personality disorder.[[/note]]—who may have a conscience, but it's so heavily distorted that his/her moral codes end up demented; and whose attitude toward society becomes that of a KnightTemplar.

See also PrinciplesZealot, when one is completely obsessed with his/her moral code above everything; some moral sociopaths are twisted versions of these as well since they care about their empathy-restricted moral code almost as much as they do about themselves. This twist can be bad to be around, without necessarily being Evil...or even conventionally [[GoodIsNotNice Good,]] for that matter (it's going to hit [[ToBeLawfulOrGood Lawful,]] though). However, moral sociopaths need not be always overwhelmed by extremism. Many can simply hit NominalHero, who, while lacking empathy, still have their moral codes to restrict them from dangerous, socially damaging behaviors in many ways. Also compare/contrast BlackAndWhiteInsanity, ByronicHero, and SociopathicHero. Also, at a bit more of a stretch...ComedicSociopathy: a word of caution for all other characters in a work -- always remember to wear properly tested safety equipment if one of ''those'' is a main protagonist. Having "fun feels good and is liked by the crowd, so do what is fun for the crowd and avoid what the crowd finds unfun" as an actual moral stance can be draining to live with. See also EvilHero, where the person in question truly ''is'' evil through and through but is merely doing a traditionally heroic job like police officer or firefighter.

* Billy Butcher in ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' has high-functioning psychosis and a general LackOfEmpathy, but he has a strong sense of honor and morality as well as concern for his fellow man that makes him [[BloodKnight more than willing to happily brutalize]] anyone who preys on others. [[spoiler: However, his ControlFreak tendencies and excessive FantasticRacism leads to him becoming a WellIntentionedExtremist with time.]]

* Flowey The Flower used to be this in Videogame/{{Undertale}}. He states that he spent many timelines being the Underground’s savior, but unfortunately got bored with that and started doing everything, good and evil.

* Dhar Mann's "inspirational" Website/YouTube videos are largely this. Almost every video has a BrokenAesop, depicting a story where one person is the clear hero and the other is obviously the villain, and with the conflict resolving in a very unrealistic way. Oftentimes, the message of Dhar Mann's videos is simply: "Don't be mean to people, or else something bad will happen to you, and the people you hurt will be successful". Despite being on regular Website/YouTube, the videos have a large fanbase of children due to their simplicity and self-centered morality.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': Frollo is selfish in his lust for Esmeralda, but otherwise he sincerely believes half of the things he does genuinely are what God intended (albeit because [[TautologicalTemplar he, Frollo, couldn't possibly do anything God didn't want him to do).]] A pretty big break from the literary version, who was a much nicer AntiVillain and probably not a sociopath at all.

** The [[VastBureaucracy Azorius Senate]] from [[CityPlanet Ravnica]] also count, being obsessed with order and making laws, while not caring for the population, and sometimes even acting fascistic. Being the enemy colors of Red, the color of emotions and empathy, White and Blue loves this trope.

** The Phyrexians have a very well structured religious system and many of them [[KnightTemplar hang neurotically to their philosophy]], but they have very little empathy. New Phyrexia indeed has two factions that fit this bill perfectly: the [[MachineWorship Machine Orthodoxy]], composed of [[LightIsNotGood white-aligned]] Phyrexians that formed a [[ReligionOfEvil nightmarish faith]] which they cling to obsessively, and the [[MadScientist Progress Engine]], composed of blue-aligned Phyrexians whose view of "progress" would make Josef Mengele proud.

* The Rani, from ''Series/DoctorWho'' and its extended universe. Unlike another former classmate of the Doctor's-turned-Time Lord renegade, The Master, The Rani dislikes needless violence and exercising power over others for its own sake. She'll even help people who are in danger when it doesn't benefit her. She genuinely sees herself as working toward scientific knowledge and at one point thinks an entire planet she's been experimenting on will benefit in the long-term from her actions. It's just that her quest for knowledge tends to benefit her while inflicting ''tremendous'' suffering on beings she considers lesser species (which, naturally, would be any species that isn't Gallifreyan). Nor does she really understand the Doctor's ethics. In the Big Finish audio ''The Rani Elite'', when the Doctor is angry when she [[MercyKill kills a man who is trapped in a decaying body as a direct result of her experiments]], she's genuinely taken aback that the Doctor isn't instead praising her for her compassion.

By definition, sociopaths are largely or totally incapable of normal levels of guilt, compassion, empathy, or remorse -- thus, whenever they subscribe to a moral code, said code will either be reinterpreted into something rather more amoral than usual or simply be amoral from the outset. They might well feel "bad" or uncomfortable about doing something they think is wrong, or that goes against their code, [[IgnoredEpiphany but they won't necessarily be able to feel guilty about that and will shrug it off as just one of those things.]] or [[IDidWhatIHadToDo justify to themselves what they did]] as meeting TheNeedsOfTheMany, or what have you; no matter how much InsaneTrollLogic they have to employ to reach their conclusion. This guilt-free confidence of theirs in their own beliefs, abilities, and logic chains can come across as highly charismatic to a lot of the people around them, so expect TheCharmer or TheSocialExpert to come with the package, even if they openly display their blind spots.

* Frank Castle/ComicBook/ThePunisher sometimes has this problem, DependingOnTheWriter. He kills because he's a [[BloodKnight war-addicted]] [[AxCrazy psychopath]]; he limits himself to criminals out of a lingering sense of responsibility.

* ''Series/BurnNotice'': Michael Weston is a former CIA agent regarded by many of his colleagues to be one of the best field agents they have and it shows in his work; he is an expert at emotionally manipulating targets and tricking them into giving him what he wants, whatever that may be. Many of his tactics, deliberate gaslighting, and the ease with which he lies edge into some sociopathic tendencies. He also struggles to relate to his friends and family on an emotional level, his cold calculated approach frequently alienating people he genuinely cares for. These tendencies are further highlighted in a conversation with his mother where she reveals that [[spoiler: even as a child she could see something dark in him. It worried her so much she forged his father's signature to let him join the military, thinking they would help him forge that darkness into a tool for good.]] Despite the emotionless deadpan he usually displays he has strict morals about how he handles situations, what sort of jobs he's willing to take, and only ever takes a life if absolutely necessary.

* Creator/JRRTolkien writes that Sauron of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' was originally this. Even when he was a good guy, Sauron always liked perfect order. This was not a particularly bad trait for a servant of Aulë, the smith of the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Valar]]. It helps to be an obsessive perfectionist when you're making jewelry, or languages, or helping design the bodies of a species. It was probably in fact Sauron's experience working with Aulë on creating the dwarves that started him thinking about what the perfect way to arrange nature for sentient life. And then Yavanna went and made a chaotic mess (from his point of view) when creating nature. Sauron defects to the BigBad, but he still very much has benevolent intentions. Then the elves wake up, and well... from Sauron's point of view, they are {{SmugSuper}}s. Elves only take instructions from people they trust, don't fear death, and are supremely capable of building a perfectly functional society entirely on their own. This annoys both Sauron and his boss Morgoth to no end. Sauron's intentions start to become less benevolent, and he starts to have a sadistic side as a result of his mounting frustrations. However, a small glimpse of this previous Sauron can perhaps be seen in the city he sets up at Tol-en-Gaurhoth. He does seem to genuinely care about the werewolves, who are the primary permanent inhabitants of the city. By the time of The Lord of the Rings though, any hint of benevolent intentions within Sauron has vanished. He has become so bitter, frustrated, and sadistic that ''he'' can't remember what it was like to feel for others much less try to convince anyone else that he does. Hence why he cannot take a fair form, as was his custom in the 1st and 2nd Ages. Of course, that is not to say that Sauron couldn't eventually be redeemed: and after everything he has lost, he might just be tired enough to give up, repent and face the judgement of the Valar. Or then again, maybe not.

* In ''Literature/TheExpanse'', Amos is explicitly described as a sociopathic killer, although this is as a result of trauma he suffered as a child. He uses other, more moral people around him to keep him on the right track, as he's more than willing to just start butchering people who get in his way without someone to keep him in check. In ''Nemesis Games'', after [[spoiler: Earth is hit by meteor strikes]] and he's left without anyone to tell him what to ''not'' do, Amos takes extreme measures to stay alive, including seeking out and killing a survivalist so he can loot his bunker. In a few cases, however, we encounter instances of his bizarre moral code, such as his violent objections whenever he encounters someone abusing children, and his sense of moral obligation to those who are part of his self-identified "family", including a willingness to go to war against an entire crime family when they initially refuse to help pay benefits to his adoptive mother's widower. In short: Amos has worked out that a fully-expressed set of murderous behaviours even for immediate survival is ''a very, very bad'' longer-term survival strategy to have in space where you kind of need a lot of people on your side just to get air and water -- so, he tries to keep a small, trusted, cohesive and protected group around him to steer him in less accidentally suicidal directions and help him out of social jams he can't wrap his head around. Whatever it takes. Always. Everything makes sense when you look at it that way. The liking kids bit? He knows he's damaged, and when it happened to him: what little empathy he has, he keeps for those who might wind up like him if he doesn't protect them when he actually sees stuff like that happening in front of him. He doesn't always get it right, but he tries.

* The new head of the CIA, Erica Sloane, in ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout''. She ultimately comes to agree with Ethan Hunt's compassionate worth ethic, '''not''' out of any respect or agreement with his morality, but only because of her not needing to feel any sympathy while many others can.

* If we are to take him at his word, Sherlock Holmes is a more-or-less-heroic example of this trope in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}.'' ([[InsistentTerminology He says that he's a "high-functioning sociopath," ''not'' a psychopath.]]) He solves difficult crimes for the intellectual challenge rather than any particular desire to right wrongs or help people.

* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': Sameen Shaw is a textbook sociopath who is on the right side. She was originally an extremely talented surgeon since she didn't have all those messy emotions that got in the way of work for everybody else. But her ''horrific'' bedside manner led to her superiors strongly encouraging her to find another job, so she became a government black-ops agent. She did a great job at that until she stumbled onto a secret miles above her pay grade, and her partner was killed for it. Shaw killed her boss (the guy who ordered the hit), but pointedly left everyone else in the organization alive because she knew they were doing good work. Then she joined Team Machine, a group of {{Small Steps Hero}}es who do the exact same job she was doing for the government, just on a smaller scale. While she finds some of their rules such as avoiding killing to be naive, she does follow them when possible and proves to be an extremely valuable asset. Even her former black ops bosses, who know they should really kill her [[HeKnowsTooMuch for knowing too much]], acknowledge that she's better off where she is.

* ''Series/BurnNotice : Micheal Westen is a former CIA agent regarded by many of his colleagues to be one of the best field agents they have and it shows in his work; he is an expert at emotionally manipulating targets and tricking them into giving him what he wants, whatever that may be. Many of his tactics, deliberate gaslighting, and the ease with which he lies edge into some sociopathic tendencies. He also struggles to relate to his friends and family on an emotional level, his cold calculated approach frequently alienating people he genuinely cares for. These tendencies are further highlighted in a conversation with his mother where she reveals that [[spoiler: even as a child she could see something dark in him. It worried her so much she forged his father's signature to let him join the military, thinking they would help him forge that darkness into a tool for good.]] Despite the emotionless deadpan he usually displays he has strict morals about how he handles situations, what sort of jobs he's willing to take, and only ever takes a life if absolutely necessary.

* Flowey The Flower used to be this in Undertale. He states that he spent many timelines being the Underground’s savior, but unfortunately got bored with that and started doing everything, good and evil.

* [[spoiler:Amy Dunne]] from ''Literature/GoneGirl'' is a sociopath to the core, with a list of transgressions that includes [[spoiler:setting up a former boyfriend for raping her, throwing herself down a flight of stairs and blaming it on a childhood friend for petty reasons, and murdering Desi as well as framing him for kidnapping and raping her to fit her WoundedGazelleGambit plot]]. But [[spoiler:she does genuinely believe in the concept of marriage and all that it details. Nick's neglectful, inconsiderate attitude of her, as well as him cheating on her with a student of his using the same routine he used to win her over is what pushes her to exact her revenge. She also seems to care about social equality and diverse representation; in her list of things that she did with Nick that made her not use her brain as much as she used to, she says that she watched movies and didn't think about the "lack of women and minorities in meaningful roles."]]

* [[spoiler:Amy Dunne]] from ''Literature/GoneGirl'' is a sociopath to the core, with a list of transgressions that includes [[spoiler:setting up a former boyfriend for raping her, throwing herself down a flight of stairs and blaming it on a childhood friend for petty reasons, and murdering Desi as well as framing him for kidnapping and raping her to fit her WoundedGazelleGambit plot]]. But [[spoiler:she does genuinely believe in the concept of marriage and all that it details. Nick's neglectful, inconsiderate attitude of her, as well as him cheating on her with a student of his using the same routine he used to win her over is what pushes her to exact her revenge.]] She also seems to care about social equality and diverse representation; in her list of things that she did with Nick that made her not use her brain as much as she used to, she says that she watched movies and didn't think about the "lack of women and minorities in meaningful roles."

* [[spoiler:Elmer C. Albatross]] from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''. Despite his cheerful AllLovingHero demeanor and selfless behavior, he is [[LackOfEmpathy completely devoid of empathy and concern for others.]] He just does what he does because GoodFeelsGood.

* Tanya von Degurechaff from ''LightNovel/SagaOfTanyaTheEvil'' is this combined with JerkassHasAPoint. She does have reasonably firm moral lines and displays significant contempt for those who breach them. She hates war and fighting, considering them a waste of resources, endeavors to always obey the rules, despises laziness, and views HonorBeforeReason attitudes as pure selfish pride.

* ''LightNovel/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'':
** [[BigBad Prince Fugil Arcadia]] believes in creating a balanced and peaceful world, but he has no empathy for individual humans (save for Arshalia), to the point where he sees them as objects in a Civ-like game who can be manipulated and sacrificed for TheNeedsOfTheMany.
** Singlen Shelbrit is opposed to corrupt, inefficient governments, and seeks to rule the world to correct society. Like Fugil, he is also unable to form attachments with others and is willing to sacrifice others for these ideals. He may be a bigger example than Fugil, since he never shows attachment to anyone, including his sister.

See also PrinciplesZealot, when one is completely obsessed with his/her moral code above everything; some moral sociopaths are twisted versions of these as well since they care more about their empathy-restricted moral code almost as much as they do about themselves. This twist can be bad to be around, without necessarily being Evil...or even conventionally [[GoodIsNotNice Good,]] for that matter (it's going to hit [[ToBeLawfulOrGood Lawful,]] though). However, moral sociopaths need not be always overwhelmed by extremism. Many can simply hit NominalHero, who, while lacking empathy, still have their moral codes to restrict them from dangerous, socially damaging behaviors in many ways. Also compare/contrast BlackAndWhiteInsanity, ByronicHero, and SociopathicHero. Also, at a bit more of a stretch...ComedicSociopathy: a word of caution for all other characters in a work -- always remember to wear properly tested safety equipment if one of ''those'' is a main protagonist. Having "fun feels good and is liked by the crowd, so do what is fun for the crowd and avoid what the crowd finds unfun" as an actual moral stance can be draining to live with. See also EvilHero, where the person in question truly ''is'' evil through and through but is merely doing a traditionally heroic job like police officer or firefighter.

* In the ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'', the worse members of the [[LightIsNotGood Light Ones]] [[NotSoDifferent and]] the better members of [[DarkIsNotEvil Dark Ones]] are this.