The Paradoxical Unity of Psychopathy and Schizophrenia

This paper presents an integrative evolutionary and philosophical framework conceptualizing human psychology as operating on a universal spectrum of adaptation, shaped by inescapable existential and relational conflicts (the Mortality and Social Paradoxes). Prototypes like schizophrenia and psychopathy are viewed not as discrete pathologies but as illustrative points on this spectrum, representing divergent strategies for managing fundamental anxiety related to physical and social insecurity/vulnerability. Central to this model is Imagination, understood dually as: 1) the cognitive engine of adaptive self-deception, constructing subjective realities (Māyā-like) to conceal or buffer overwhelming conflicts (akin to Jung’s Shadow dynamics), and 2) the source of creative power enabling goaldirected action and the projection of possibility into the world (seeking Control, managing Belonging). This universal adaptive system, implemented through neurobiological mechanisms, places everyone on a continuum between internalizing (reality-restructuring) and externalizing (environment-controlling) strategies, profoundly influenced by environment.These strategies, while adaptive in origin and function, can become rigid or mismatched with the environment, leading to significant suffering. The framework challenges the arbitrary lines drawn between “normal” and “disordered,” arguing that terms like “sub-clinical” obscure the underlying universal spectrum and that phenomena like the “success paradox” expose the context-dependency of adaptation. It critiques the demand for narrow empiricism inconsistent with clinical realities, highlights the dialectical nature of psychological functioning, and values argumentation alongside empirical data, using foundational heuristics. By integrating Terror Management Theory, Betrayal Trauma Theory, neuroscience (including Gazzaniga’s work), and philosophical insights, the model proposes a dimensional understanding focused on protective purpose and mechanisms (including apophenia and anosognosia as facets of Imagination) rather than symptom clusters. It acknowledges the fluid, overlapping nature of its core dimensions and anticipates potential resistance as consistent with its premise of self-concealing mechanisms. Treatment implications focus on enhancing adaptive flexibility and addressing root anxieties within supportive environments.