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This chapter summarises latest discoveries of neurohumoral substrates of emotional, cognitive, and behavioural aspects of morality, once again stressing the importance of intact subcortical processing of the social stimuli before their higher cognitive integration and consequent abstract moral reasoning can be achieved. Psychopathy is discussed as a disorder of moral sense and conduct without affected cognitive functioning: a review of the history of psychopathy is outlined from Phillipe Pinnel's manie sans delire to the contemporary Anglo-Saxon constructs and assessment instruments; presenting the most important findings of neuroimaging, biochemistry, and genetics related to the currently prevailing psychopathy conceptions. The mechanisms of unethical behaviour perpetrated by psychotic individuals are inquired on the level of neuropsychology and neurobiology, suggesting neuropsychological, and neurobiological differences in violent and non-violent schizophrenic subgroups. Specifically themed delusions on the background of comparatively minor cognitive disturbances seem to be prominent in the instances of psychotic moral transgressions, whose treatment could eventually seize methods based on metacognition. Psychopathy and psychosis are compared both conceptually and in regards to their assumed biological background, arguing about their possible overlaps and comorbidity. Seizing the extreme examples of a Czech transgender psychopathic murderer and a Chilean matricide with iatrogenic psychosis, the concepts of psychopathy and psychosis, as well as the attitudes to their treatment, are being scrutinised and exposed as socially conditioned and in themselves morally debatable; the implications being potentially challenging to the most profound metaethical beliefs.

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-89536-9_5

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