James Fallon | The Mind of a Dictator

James Fallon speaks at Oslo Freedom Forum 2011 The Mind of a Dictator www.OsloFreedomForum.com @OsloFF #OsloFF James Fallon begins the first session of the opening day of the 2011 Oslo Freedom Forum with a fascinating tour of a hypothetical dictator's brain. Since almost no studies have been conducted on the brain chemistry of tyrants, Fallon uses tests performed on psychopaths, who share many of the same characteristics, as a foundation for his theories. Virtually all dictators can be classified as psychopaths—they exhibit malignant narcissism, lie pathologically, and many are involved in murder. Furthermore, psychopathy can be viewed as a three-legged stool, as Fallon explains. When the presence of genetic alleles that are at high risk for aggression and violence is combined with functional brain loss and abuse in childhood, the three legs are intact and the conditions for psychopathy are met. Fallon also points out specific areas of the brain that are likely to be damaged in dictators, such as the orbital cortex and amygdala, which balance each other in a normal individual. Interestingly, our society actually encourages psychopathic traits; psychopaths are often successful in fields ranging from medicine to business. Of course, psychopaths only form a small percentage of the population, but when one rises to power the results can be disastrous. Learn more about #OsloFreedomForum: Website: https://oslofreedomforum.com X (formerly known as Twitter):   / osloff   Instagram:   / osloff   Join us in promoting freedom where it’s most at risk! Donate today: https://hrf.org/?form=donate