Do Psychopaths Have a Soul? Why the World Seems to Be Run by Their Kind

Do Psychopaths Have a Soul?

The Soul Question in a Troubled World

Have you ever looked at the cruelty in our history and wondered if some people are soulless? Around the world, people have often described remorseless tyrants, serial killers, or ruthless power-mongers as “inhuman” or “evil incarnate.” In religious lore, truly wicked individuals might be said to be under demonic influence, but mainstream theology still insists that every human has a soul (no matter how depraved their actions). Yet the casual notion of soullessness persists – we hear phrases like “He must have no soul to do what he did,” reflecting our struggle to comprehend extreme moral emptiness. I have grappled with this question deeply in my own journey, through thousands of conversations with visionaries and gurus and even explorations of the between-life realms via hypnotic regression. It leads to a provocative inquiry: Do psychopaths have a soul? And if so, why does it sometimes feel like our world is led by those devoid of empathy?

In this article, we dive into that question from multiple angles – global spiritual traditions, modern science, metaphysical insights, and personal revelations. We’ll revisit what religions and philosophies say about the soul, examine what psychology tells us about psychopathic minds, and explore esoteric ideas that might explain a seeming lack of conscience. Ultimately, I’ll share a personal theory born from spiritual experience: that the soul is a kind of frequency attuned to a universal field of love (a “light language” of consciousness), and when a person loses that tuning, they begin to act soulless. We’ll touch on quantum consciousness and qualia (the mystery of subjective experience) to bridge science with spirit, and call on wisdom from thinkers like Dr. Michael Newton (known for interlife regressions) and Sri Aurobindo (who wrote of evolutionary consciousness). Finally, we’ll consider why psychopathic traits might be overrepresented in corridors of power and end with a hopeful note on spiritual evolution – that even those deeply out of alignment may one day find their way back to the light.

Ancient Beliefs and Philosophies: What Is a Soul?

To ask whether someone has a soul, we first need to understand what different cultures mean by “soul.” Throughout history, nearly every tradition has conceived of an inner essence that animates life – though they vary on its nature. Here’s a brief tour of traditional views:

  • Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam): The soul is an immortal gift from God, the core of personhood present in every human. No matter how sinful a person becomes, they are not literally without a soul – rather, they are seen as having turned away from God or goodness (in Christian terms, a soul can fall into “spiritual death” or be influenced by evil, but it remains an eternal soul capable of salvation).
  • Dharmic religions (Hinduism, Jainism): Each being harbors an eternal soul. In Hindu thought, the ātman (inner self) is present in everyone and reincarnates through many lives until achieving liberation (moksha). The ātman is ultimately identical with the universal divine reality (Brahman) – implying each soul is a spark of the Divine. Jainism similarly teaches that every living creature has an immortal soul (jīva) accountable for its karma.
  • Buddhism: In sharp contrast, Buddhism proposes anattā (no enduring soul). According to the Buddha, what we call a “self” is just a temporary aggregation of components (body, feelings, thoughts, etc.) with no permanent essence – clinging to a soul is seen as an illusion and a source of suffering. (Despite this doctrine, Buddhists still speak of rebirth and the continuity of consciousness; they just avoid the notion of an unchanging soul.)

Philosophers have also pondered the soul for ages. Plato argued for an immortal soul that pre-exists and outlives the body, while Aristotle viewed the soul more as the animating principle of life (with human rational souls being unique to our species). Later, René Descartes famously split mind and body, equating the conscious mind with an immaterial soul. In modern times, materialist thinkers like Francis Crick and Daniel Dennett have dismissed the soul as unnecessary – Crick bluntly called human consciousness “nothing but a pack of neurons.” On the other hand, many mystics and esoteric philosophers kept the faith in something beyond the physical.

One radical idea came from G.I. Gurdjieff, a 20th-century spiritual teacher who shocked his students by claiming that not everyone automatically has a fully developed soul. He taught that an individual must consciously develop their soul through spiritual work – otherwise, an “ordinary” person remains an empty shell, lacking the immortal essence they could have attained. In Gurdjieff’s view, most humans live on autopilot in a semi-hypnotic state; a true soul must be earned or awakened. This provocative notion – that some people might walk around without an active soul – stands out from mainstream doctrines. It serves as a intriguing backdrop as we consider whether psychopaths, often noted for their lack of empathy, might be examples of such soul-less (or soul-dormant) individuals.

Multiple Souls? It’s worth noting that many indigenous and ancient cultures didn’t see the soul as a single entity at all. For instance, traditional Chinese belief speaks of multiple souls within one person: the hún and in Taoist philosophy. The hún is a yang (light, ethereal) soul that leaves the body at death, whereas the pò is a yin (dense, earthly) soul that remains with the body. Imbalances between these two were thought to cause illness. Other shamanic traditions similarly talk about “free souls” and “body souls,” or soul fragments that could be lost or stolen, causing harm until retrieved. This rich tapestry of beliefs shows that across history, the soul has been a universal idea – whether as an immortal gift from God, a reincarnating self, a bundle of parts, or something to be cultivated. Given that most traditions assert everyone has some soul, the notion of a truly soulless person is generally metaphorical. But when we encounter a person who acts as if they have no humanity – as psychopaths often do – it pushes us to find an explanation.

A classical Taoist chart from 1615 illustrates the dual-soul concept of hun (spiritual soul) and po (physical soul) within the human body. In Chinese thought, the yang hun leaves the body upon death while the yin po remains with the corpse. Imbalances between these two soul aspects were believed to cause illness or misfortune. Many cultures around the world held similar beliefs in multiple soul-components, reflecting the complexity of defining what a “soul” truly is.

Psychopathy in Scientific Light: Brains Without Empathy

Before diving into spiritual interpretations, we need to understand what psychopathy means in clinical terms. Modern science views psychopathy not as a metaphysical condition, but as a psychological and neurobiological one. Psychopaths are individuals with a distinctive cluster of traits: shallow emotions, a lack of empathy or remorse, egocentricity, deceitfulness, and often a charming but manipulative interpersonal style. They know “the words but not the music” of emotion – for example, a psychopath can mimic feelings of regret or love when it serves their agenda, but these displays are often insincere, mere performances. Dr. Robert Hare, the psychologist who pioneered the study of psychopathy, famously described psychopaths as “social predators” – people who prey on others without the internal restraints of conscience and empathy that the rest of us have.

How common are psychopaths? Using the strictest clinical definition (like Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist), only about 1% of the general adult population would qualify as psychopathic. However, if you include people with more partial psychopathic traits (sometimes called “subclinical” psychopaths), the number rises – a 2021 meta-analysis estimated around 4–5% of adults (nearly 1 in 20) show a significant level of psychopathic traits. In other words, full-fledged psychopaths are rare, but “almost psychopaths” are a bit more frequent. These traits also exist on a spectrum: one person might have a few psychopathic tendencies while another checks every box. Men are diagnosed more often than women by about a 3:1 ratio, and rates are much higher in certain groups (for example, studies find roughly 20–30% of prison inmates meet criteria for psychopathy, explaining why psychopaths contribute disproportionately to violent crime).

From a neuroscience perspective, psychopathy is linked to differences in the brain – especially in regions involved in emotion and moral reasoning. Brain scans show that when psychopaths see images of others in pain (scenarios that normally evoke empathy), their response is atypical. Some studies find lower activity in the empathy-related circuits (suggesting a blunted emotional reaction), while others paradoxically find higher activation in regions like the insula (which monitors bodily arousal) coupled with low activation in the frontal areas that integrate emotion into conscious concern. In one study, neuroscientist Jean Decety and colleagues discovered that psychopathic criminals had heightened activity in the insula upon witnessing suffering, indicating they register the distress, but they did not activate the orbitofrontal cortex – the part that would normally translate that into empathy or guilt. It’s as if the feeling gets short-circuited; they might even find the suffering stimulating rather than distressing. Structurally, psychopaths often have a smaller amygdala (the brain’s fear center) and weaker connections between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. This wiring could underlie their notorious lack of fear, limited emotional range, impulsivity, and poor restraint.

Genetics and upbringing both play a role. Twin studies suggest a substantial heritable component to the callous-unemotional temperament seen in psychopathic individuals. At the same time, adverse environments – such as childhood abuse, neglect, or inconsistent parenting – increase the likelihood that someone with a vulnerable disposition becomes an adult psychopath. In clinical terms, psychopathy overlaps partly with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), but ASPD is diagnosed mainly from behavior (like criminal acts), whereas psychopathy focuses more on inner traits like zero empathy and superficial charm.

Crucially, none of these scientific findings talk about souls. To neuroscience, psychopaths are not missing some mystical component – rather, their brains process social and emotional information differently. A psychopath’s mind is present (they can be highly intelligent and intentional) but it’s atypical in its emotional emptiness and lack of altruistic motivation. In other words, science would say a psychopath has a mind without empathy, not a body without a soul. The question of a “soul” is outside the scope of empirical science, which sticks to what it can observe. From a medical viewpoint, calling a psychopath “soulless” is more metaphor than fact – a dramatic way to describe someone who behaves in extremely inhuman ways.

Yet, as humans, we naturally reach for spiritual or moral concepts to explain such people. And indeed, across cultures, there have been many spiritual interpretations of what’s going on with a psychopath. Let’s explore those next.

Spiritual and Metaphysical Interpretations: Evil, Karma, and “Soul Disconnect”

When faced with an individual who has no conscience, societies throughout time have tried to understand it in spiritual terms. Are these people inhabited by evil forces? Are they missing a moral compass because their soul is absent or stunted? Different traditions have offered different answers:

  • Western Religious View (Possession vs. Sin): In Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, even the most evil person is still believed to have a soul – it’s part of being human. However, they might be seen as under the sway of Satan or evil spirits. For example, a Christian might say a psychopath has “given themselves to the devil” or has a soul that is spiritually dead due to sin, but they wouldn’t say God failed to give them a soul in the first place. The language of demonic influence or hardened heart is used to explain how a soul could produce such cruelty. In short, the soul is there, but engulfed in darkness.
  • Fringe Occult Theories: Outside the mainstream, some occult or New Age circles have speculated that “soulless humans” walk among us. They argue that a psychopath (or other severely antisocial person) might literally lack a higher self – essentially calling them empty human vessels. Terms like “organic portals” or background characters have been used in fringe literature to suggest some people are just part of the matrix of reality with no independent soul. These ideas, it must be stressed, are not supported by any verifiable evidence and are rejected by mainstream spirituality. They are more metaphorical or conspiratorial in nature, arising from the sense of otherness one feels in the presence of a cold-blooded individual.
  • Soul as Dormant/Eclipsed: A more nuanced spiritual interpretation is that psychopaths do have souls, but their soul is dormant, disconnected, or eclipsed by darkness. Dr. M. Scott Peck, a psychiatrist who wrote People of the Lie about human evil, took this view. He described evil as a kind of spiritual sickness in which a person’s true self (soul) has been almost entirely overcome by lies and dark forces – yet he didn’t believe the soul was literally gone. It’s as if the light of the soul is still there, but completely shrouded. This resonates with many religious ideas of people being “lost” or “fallen”; they still have a divine spark, but it’s buried under layers of ego and evil choices.
  • Reincarnation and Karma: Eastern perspectives add another twist. Some say that a psychopath might be a “young soul” – an inexperienced spirit early in its reincarnational journey, which hasn’t learned empathy yet. The idea here is evolutionary: souls grow over lifetimes, and a soul that acts with cruelty will incur heavy karma (spiritual consequences) that must be worked out. Renowned hypnotherapist Dr. Michael Newton, who conducted hundreds of between-life regressions, reported that souls who perpetrate great evil do face a kind of reckoning. According to Newton’s case studies, after death these souls undergo a period of isolation and rehabilitation in the spirit world, reviewing the pain they caused. They may even plan their next life to experience suffering from the victim’s side, as a way to learn compassion. In Newton’s view, no soul is irredeemable – but some are severely lagging in development. So a psychopathic murderer, for instance, would be an immature soul who chose (or was assigned) a very harsh role; that soul will later have to balance the scales. This karmic framework suggests the psychopath’s lack of empathy is a temporary stage in a much larger journey of the soul.
  • Esoteric “Soul Activation” Idea: As mentioned earlier, Gurdjieff’s esoteric teaching posited that many people haven’t activated their soul at all. He might say a psychopath is an extreme case of a human who has never awakened their higher consciousness – operating entirely from the lower impulses and mechanical mind. However, even Gurdjieff allowed that through intense effort or sometimes a shocking life event, such a person could ignite the spark of soul within them. In other words, nobody is permanently soulless in this framework; they are simply not switched on yet. A shock of self-awareness or grace could, theoretically, penetrate even a psychopath’s psyche and light them up (though one shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for it).

To summarize these perspectives: Major religions say psychopaths have souls (their evil comes from misuse of free will or demonic temptation, not an absence of soul). Fringe theories sensationally suggest some humans have no souls, but these lack credibility. Spiritual psychology views psychopaths as deeply disconnected from their soul or on the very low end of soul evolution – but still part of the human family of souls. This sets the stage for a compelling possibility: maybe psychopaths are connected to the source of consciousness like everyone else, yet something in their makeup blocks that light from manifesting. This is exactly what cutting-edge theories of consciousness hint at, as we’ll see next.

A Universal Field of Love: The “Light Language” of the Soul

One of the core insights I’ve gained from my metaphysical explorations is that consciousness is universal – and at its highest level, it is pure love. Many spiritual masters across cultures have pointed to this idea: that underlying all beings is a unitive field of love and light. Jesus, for example, invited people to become aware of the “universal field of Love” within and around, a teaching echoed in various mystical traditions. In modern spiritual circles, people sometimes speak of a “light language” – a kind of non-verbal, energetic language of the soul that communicates through vibration, emotion, and intuition. These are poetic ways to express the same notion: that beyond the material world, there is a fundamental energy that is conscious, benevolent, and loving, in which we all partake.

In this view, what we call a soul is essentially a unique frequency or pattern that resonates with that universal field. You can imagine the field of consciousness as an infinite cosmic radio band of love, and each individual soul as a radio tuned to a particular frequency on that band. When we are attuned to the field, we experience qualities like empathy, compassion, creativity, and connection – because we are literally vibrating in harmony with the energy of love that permeates existence. This could explain why acts of kindness or moments of profound unity (in meditation, prayer, or even near-death experiences) feel so “right” and real to us: we are aligned with our source frequency.

What, then, would it mean if someone behaves “soullessly”? Using the frequency metaphor, it’s as if their radio receiver is out of tune with the field. The love signal is still all around, but they’re not picking it up clearly. Their soul (their core consciousness pattern) isn’t resonating with the vibration of empathy and unity. Instead, they might be in tune with lower, discordant frequencies – selfish survival impulses, fear, dominance, or other vibrations that are out of phase with love. The result is a human who appears to lack a soul, when in fact what they lack is the resonance of soul.

Let’s unpack this carefully. I’m proposing that every human has a soul in the sense of an immortal consciousness connected to the cosmic source. But not every human is expressing their soul fully. In psychopaths, it’s as if the volume of the soul is turned way down, or the signal is very distorted. Imagine a light bulb with a dimmer switch – at full brightness (soul fully connected), the person shines with love, empathy, and awareness. At the lowest setting (soul very disconnected), the person’s behavior is cold, dark, perhaps cruel. The bulb (soul) is still there, but barely glowing.

Several spiritual teachers I’ve spoken with have described meeting certain people who give off an absence of spiritual light – a chilling feeling that “nobody’s home” behind their eyes. This might be what it’s like when the soul’s frequency is nearly silent. It’s not that these individuals literally have no soul; rather their life is disaligned from that universal love field. In metaphysical terms, one could say they are experiencing extreme soul amnesia – they have forgotten their true nature as a spark of the divine love, and thus they act as if love doesn’t exist.

An interesting implication of this theory is that love and conscience are not just emotions or social constructs, but actual energetic realities. When we feel love or empathy, we are essentially “online” with the light language of the cosmos. When someone feels nothing of the sort, they are offline, closed off. It’s analogous to how a radio in a basement might get only static because it’s shielded from the signal. A psychopath might be like a radio wrapped in thick lead – the soul’s broadcast can’t get through to influence behavior.

This perspective also offers compassion: it frames psychopaths not as monsters who choose to have no soul, but as severely disconnected beings. They are akin to spiritually deaf individuals in a world full of music – the music of universal love. We can hate what they do (and protect society from their harm), yet still recognize that at the deepest level, their true self (soul) is simply not being expressed. It’s as though their frequency knob is stuck on static. And importantly, a knob can potentially be turned…

Quantum Consciousness and Qualia: Bridging Science and Spirit

If talk of a “love field” or “soul frequency” sounds too mystical, consider that some forward-thinking scientists have been moving in a similar direction. The intersection of quantum physics and consciousness research yields striking parallels to the idea of an underlying field of being. Pioneers like physicist Sir Roger Penrose and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff have proposed that consciousness might arise from quantum processes in the brain – a theory known as Orch-OR (Orchestrated Objective Reduction). Without diving into heavy detail, the key point is that they suspect mind is tied into the very fabric of reality at a subatomic level. Hameroff even speculated in a TEDx talk titled “Do we have a Quantum Soul?” that consciousness could be a fundamental property of the universe – not produced by the brain, but channeled through it. In this model, our brains are like radios (to reuse that analogy), tuning into a deeper layer of reality where consciousness (or soul) exists as a kind of quantum information field.

Hameroff has used the term “proto-conscious field,” suggesting that a field of rudimentary consciousness pervades the cosmos. When we’re alive, our brain’s microtubules (tiny structures in neurons) orchestrate quantum interactions with that field, giving rise to our specific mindstream. When we die, that quantum information doesn’t just vanish; it could, in theory, dissipate back into the cosmic field – which might account for things like near-death experiences where people report their consciousness operating outside their body. Penrose is more cautious about life-after-death implications, but he agrees that the known laws of physics are not enough to explain the sheer reality of qualia – the vivid, first-person experience of consciousness (like the redness of red or the pain of empathy). According to Penrose, something non-algorithmic and fundamental is at play in conscious thought, possibly involving undiscovered physics.

How does this relate to our soul discussion? Well, if consciousness is indeed part of the fundamental fabric of the universe – a kind of universal field – then it aligns beautifully with the spiritual notion of a universal field of love or “light language.” It suggests that all individual minds are linked to a greater mind. In this view, every human being’s consciousness arises from the same cosmic source (call it the quantum field, the divine, Brahman, the Holy Spirit – pick your terminology). Thus even a psychopath, at the deepest level, is connected to the universal pool of consciousness, just as much as a saint is. Their quantum soul, so to speak, exists. Where they differ is in the expression of that consciousness through their brain and personality.

Hameroff himself entertained this idea, noting that if the “quantum soul” theory holds, then a psychopath’s consciousness is still part of the fundamental field – it’s not that they lack a soul, but rather their brain’s wiring distorts the expression of it. The signal is there, but the receiver (brain) is tuned incorrectly or has faulty circuits, resulting in a person who doesn’t manifest compassion. This scientific metaphor reinforces our earlier idea of the soul’s frequency being disconnected. Here we simply say: the soul’s quantum information is present, but the psychopath’s brain does not integrate it into empathic awareness. The outcome is a human who behaves as if they have no soul, even though at the quantum level they are made of the same conscious “stuff” as all of us.

This perspective helps address the hard problem of consciousness – why and how we have inner experience (qualia) at all. If consciousness (and qualities like love) are fundamental in the universe, it might mean that things like moral intuition or spiritual experiences have a basis in physics we don’t yet fully grasp. Some thinkers go so far as to suggest that free will or moral feeling could be quantum phenomena, injecting genuine spontaneity and value-sensitivity into our brains beyond deterministic chemistry. While highly speculative, it’s enticing: perhaps empathy and conscience are not just evolutionary byproducts, but reflections of an underlying moral field of consciousness. If so, a psychopath’s condition could be seen as a biological problem (their brain doesn’t pick up the field’s “moral frequency” properly) rather than them being a separate, soulless category of being.

The quantum consciousness angle thus bridges science and spirituality by offering a possible mechanism for the soul. It doesn’t “prove” souls exist, but it opens the door. It tells us that our search for the soul isn’t necessarily outside the domain of science – it might just be waiting in the next breakthroughs of physics and neuroscience. And importantly, it supports a compassionate stance: we are all one at the deepest level (literally entangled in one vast field of mind), even if on the surface we seem worlds apart.

Karmic Lessons and the Evolution of the Soul

If indeed every individual consciousness is part of a greater whole, why do some manifest love and others manifest cruelty? Spiritual teachings about reincarnation and soul evolution offer an intriguing answer: souls mature over time. The idea of an evolving soul was notably articulated by Indian sage Sri Aurobindo, who said that the soul (what he called the psychic being) is not a static entity but one that grows through the experiences of many. According to Aurobindo, the soul is like a divine spark at the center of our being, and around that spark the psychic being gradually forms, becoming more conscious and powerful with each. Early in its development, a soul’s expression might be very limited – the person might be driven by base instincts and self-centeredness. In later stages, the soul’s light shines more fully, producing a person of wisdom, compassion, and spiritual insight. All souls are eternal and inherently divine, but they are in different stages of unfolding.

From this evolutionary standpoint, an individual with psychopathic traits could be seen as a soul that is still in an early (or difficult) phase of its long journey. This isn’t to excuse harmful behavior, but it offers a context: perhaps that soul has not yet learned the lessons of empathy and unity. Or perhaps, as some mystics suggest, it intentionally took on a very dark incarnation as a “fast-track” learning experience – a trial by fire. In the cosmic scale, one lifetime of 70 or 80 years is a blink of an eye; a soul might wear the mask of a villain in one life and the role of a healer in another, all for the sake of growth. As hard as it is to fathom, some spiritual sources propose that on a soul level there are agreements in place: one soul will act as the antagonist so that others can learn forgiveness or strength, and later they will trade places.

Dr. Michael Newton’s work with life-between-lives hypnotherapy provides some striking anecdotes along these lines. Clients under deep regression have described the spirit world as a place of intense learning and planning, where souls review their past life behaviors and meet with guides to chart their next steps. In cases where an individual committed great evil, Newton’s subjects say the soul undergoes a kind of healing isolation – not punishment, but rehabilitation. They must face the full impact of their actions (experiencing the suffering they caused others) and genuinely feel remorse on a soul level. Only then can they progress. Often, such a soul will choose to incarnate in circumstances that subject them to similar pain, effectively to balance their karma and instill empathy. Notably, in all of Newton’s hundreds of cases, no soul was ever seen as permanently lost or “evil”. Even the worst humans were described as misguided or immature souls who eventually will return to the light after sufficient learning. This aligns with the broader spiritual principle that every soul is ultimately redeemable and part of God (or the Source).

So, if a psychopath is an example of a soul currently manifesting great darkness, the karmic view would say: give it time (perhaps a lot of time). That soul will have to answer for its deeds in the tapestry of karma, and through that process, it will learn empathy one day. Meanwhile, the rest of us are challenged to deal with such individuals in a way that aligns with our own soul growth – often a tricky balance of justice and mercy.

The concept of evolving consciousness also means that humanity collectively is evolving. Aurobindo believed that as more individuals attain higher spiritual consciousness, society itself will transform. We might speculate, then, that psychopathy could be a feature of a less spiritually evolved state of humanity – one that may recede as we progress. Perhaps in a future age, the conditions that give rise to psychopathic personalities (genetic, environmental, whatever they may be) will diminish, and more humans will be born with their heart-centers naturally activated. In the interim, though, we seem to be in a world where empathy is distributed on a bell curve: some have an abundance of it, and some very few.

Psychopaths in Power: When the Disconnected Rule

The title of this article suggests that “the world seems to be run by their kind.” Indeed, one of the alarming aspects of psychopathy is how frequently those traits show up in leaders. History is full of ruthless emperors, dictators, warlords, and, in modern times, corrupt corporate executives and politicians who fit the profile: charming when needed, ruthlessly cold, manipulative, and utterly self-serving. It often feels like those lacking a moral compass rise to the top, while gentler folks get pushed aside. Is there truth to this feeling? Some research indicates yes. Psychologists have noted that certain high-power professions – politics, big business, finance – can attract individuals with psychopathic tendencies. In corporate settings, estimates vary, but a figure sometimes cited is that roughly 4% to 12% of CEOs could exhibit significant psychopathic traits, far above the 1% baseline in the general. That means leaders may be several times more likely to be psychopathic than the average person on the street.

Why would that be the case? One simple reason is that in cutthroat hierarchical systems, people who are willing to do anything to win (lie, backstab, exploit others) often outcompete those who are more empathetic or ethical. A psychopath has no qualms about firing thousands of employees to boost quarterly profits, or lying to voters to gain power, or starting a war for territorial gain. Lacking empathy can be an advantage in zero-sum contests. They also tend to be superb self-marketers and manipulators – a superficial charisma is a common trait – which can charm enough people to grant them leadership. In essence, our socio-economic structures sometimes reward the very qualities that define psychopathy: boldness, strategic ruthlessness, narcissistic charisma. Meanwhile, truly compassionate leaders might struggle in systems that view kindness as weakness.

From a spiritual perspective, one could say that many of our institutions were built in an era of lower consciousness – “might makes right” has been a ruling principle for much of human history. Thus, it’s no surprise that those least burdened by conscience often climb to the helm of such institutions. The result is a world where we frequently see decisions being made that lack basic compassion (for people, for the planet), reflecting the psychology of the decision-makers. It gives the eerie impression that the world is run by people with no soul.

However, awareness of this dynamic is growing. Terms like “Corporate Psychopath” or “Snakes in Suits” (after a famous book) are now part of public discourse, meaning society is learning to identify and wary of these characters. In my conversations with spiritual thinkers, a common sentiment is that light is being shined on the darkness in these times. We’re beginning to collectively call out and change the systems that enable psychopathic leadership – whether through greater accountability, ethical training, or simply refusing to elevate individuals who show these red flags. It’s a slow process, but it’s happening. Many empathic and awake individuals are also stepping into leadership roles and proving that you don’t have to be a heartless person to be effective. They offer a different model of leadership – one based on collaboration, empathy, and vision – essentially soulful leadership. As humanity evolves, we may redesign our organizations to favor qualities of emotional intelligence rather than raw Machiavellianism.

It’s also worth noting that not every person with psychopathic traits in power is a lost cause. Some business leaders, for example, might score high on boldness and low empathy yet still learn to institute checks on their worst impulses (sometimes through counsel of others or personal awakening experiences). A few even experience a form of moral conversion. There are anecdotes of hard-driving CEOs who later in life find religion or a spiritual path and soften considerably – essentially their dormant soul values finally break through. Whether this is sincere or just mellowing with age is case-dependent, but it shows that even among “their kind,” change is possible.

Hope for Reattunement and Spiritual Evolution

Considering all the above, where do we land on the question “Do psychopaths have a soul?” The balanced answer seems to be: Yes, but it’s complicated. Psychopaths are human beings and in the view of most traditions, that alone grants them a soul. Yet they live in a state of profound disconnection from the qualities we associate with the soul – love, empathy, conscience, a sense of the sacred. It’s as if they are out of tune with the symphony of the human spirit. They remind us of Gurdjieff’s warning that a soul undeveloped can make a person appear as an empty vessel; indeed, interacting with a psychopath often leaves one feeling that they lacked the “spark” we expect in others.

However, I find it heartening that neither science nor spirituality truly labels these people as non-human. They are not demons or aliens; they are a small subset of our human family, deviating from the norm but still within it. And from a spiritual lens, no matter how far they stray, they are never beyond the reach of the divine. In the grand chessboard of incarnations and karmic repercussions, even those who cause immense harm will have opportunities (here or in the hereafter) to learn, to change, and to realign with the light. In spiritual literature there is always hope for redemption – a soul is never completely lost or irredeemable in the eyes of the Divine. It might take many lifetimes and harsh lessons, but a being that is out of tune today can, in time, find its melody again.

For the rest of us, perhaps the presence of “soulless-seeming” individuals in our world serves as an impetus for our own growth. They confront us with the reality of evil and challenge us to respond with wisdom rather than hatred. We are called to protect society from harm (through justice, boundaries, and truth) and to hold a light of compassion (recognizing that, at the ultimate level, the psychopath is a deeply sick soul rather than a mystical bane). This is not easy. It’s much easier to just label them monsters and wash our hands. But if indeed we believe in a universal field of love, then even those who act lovelessly are part of that field, however covered in grime.

In closing, my personal belief – shaped by spiritual experiences and the insights of sages – is that one day all souls will come home. The universe, built as I feel it is on love, is always conspiring to awaken that love in every point of consciousness. Psychopaths, as estranged from love as they are, cannot extinguish the spark entirely. Life will find ways to fan it, whether through earthly events (illness, loss, an encounter that cracks their facade) or beyond (a life review, a divine intervention). We may not witness it in this era, but the arc of the soul is long and bends toward illumination.

So, do psychopaths have a soul? Yes – a quantum, karmic, love-and-light-infused soul, obscured though it may be. And as for why the world seems run by them at times: perhaps it’s a stage in our collective evolution, one that we have the power to move beyond as we anchor more love and awareness in our systems. The antidote to the “soulless” is for the rest of us to live soulfully. By keeping our own connection to the universal love field strong, by speaking the light language of kindness and conscience, we shift the balance. We create a world where psychopathic behavior is recognized, mitigated, and ultimately not valorized. And in that world, even those lost in darkness might, one by one, feel the call to step into the light.

Hope is therefore not naive but essential. The journey of consciousness is full of surprises – the cruelest person can have a change of heart, the bleakest situation can turn around. We hold hope that every being, no matter how disconnected now, will one day reattune to the soul’s frequency. In the grand symphony of existence, every note belongs, and eventually every note will harmonize. Until then, we do our best to keep the music of love playing loud.

Sources: The above exploration integrates insights from religious texts and philosophical writings, findings from psychology and neuroscience on psychopathy, as well as spiritual perspectives ranging from Gurdjieff’s teachings to Michael Newton’s regression case studies. Quantum consciousness theories proposed by Penrose and Hameroff provide a scientific framework for a “soul field”. Sri Aurobindo’s concept of the evolving soul sheds light on psychopathy as a stage in soul. Statistics on psychopathy in leadership illustrate the real-world implications of empathy deficits in. Despite the challenges psychopaths pose, nearly all traditions affirm the possibility of redemption and the ultimate unity of all souls. The journey continues for us all.


With joy, Luis Miguel Gallardo Author of The Meta Pets Method | PhD Candidate | Professor of Practice Yogananda School of Spirituality and Happiness | Founder, World Happiness Foundation | Author, Unlocking the Hidden Light

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