I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of Firenza Cole’s The Ultimate Guide to Lying, an indie ebook coming out later this month.  Her book serves as a nearly complete reference to lying and deception and the information such a book contains is instrumental to the antisocial.  I bring this up because I believe that society – with its complex rules on what is considered an acceptable lie – is often so naive and susceptible to the lies of the antisocial, specifically the psychopath.  This post will not attempt to cover all of the facets of lying, I will defer the reader to any number of resources, including Ms. Cole’s ebook.  However, I do want to stress how instrumental lying is to the psychopath that wishes to either get ahead of the game, so to speak, or to cover one’s trail of destruction.

Lying is critical when covering one’s tracks. I feel this goes without saying.  Combine lying with the psychopath’s failure to accept responsibility and you run the risk of being a caricature.  Too many psychopaths, namely the unsuccessful ones, do not realize when to tell the truth and when to tell lies.  I’ve written many times that the key to successful lying is to tell mostly truths.  This way, the occasional lie is taken hook, line, and sinker.  When shit hits the fan, the psychopath does not want to be seen as a habitual liar, but rather a trusted source of truth.  If such a disguise is worn, then it is easy to deny responsibility for others will be more likely to see what is being said as truth.  Granted, the highly intelligent psychopath could include ever-increasing amounts of manipulation to allow for more lies, but most psychopaths are simply not this clever.

If lying is not used for covering one’s tracks then it should be used to chart one’s future.  The psychopath that can successfully combine innate skill with the occasional lie can be seen as the most trusted of advisors and can create empires with his lips and tongue.  This should also go without explaining.  Combine such with the callousness and ruthlessness of the psychopath and you can end up with powerful figures such as the Enrons of the world or the CEOs that are able to promise profit in the direst of times (lie) and then make such a reality through ruthless culling of the workforce.

Lying rarely exists in a vacuum and that is why most psychopaths fail to be regarded as anything other than pathological liars with no bite.  The successful psychopath must be willing to tell truth (on occasion) and must be willing to turn lie in to truth via force.  The clever antisocial has a toolbox of lies, each playing their own part in shaping their interactions with those of any stature and position relative to him.  Just as one would not use a blowtorch to prune a hedge (usually), one must select the correct technique and supporting tools to ensure that he is regarded as a savant and a confidant rather than a liar with no use to anyone.

Image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.  Use of this image should not imply endorsement by the image author, Vincent Maurin.