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Seems like Breivik doesn't want to be recognized as insane, which is actually a sign of his insanity...
I see that he would rather go to prison than to be recognized as a mad man...
Amor ordinem nescit.
Love does not know order.
- Saint Jerome -

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Thanks Andrew,

You have done a great job at updating this thread with every twist and turn of this story since the original horrific murders.

The Breivik case raises wider questions about our understanding of mental health and psychological dysfunction.

It reminds me of other other examples such as Jihadist terrorists, Nazi soldiers or concentration camp guards, or terrorists like Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, who were all judged 'sane'. In American history we have the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam war committed by otherwise 'normal GI's'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre

The common link seems to be a deciding a specific section of humanity are in some way sub-human and a threat or affront to your culture/race/religion which makes them disposable. With such a divisive perspective it appears some people are able to carry out unspeakable atrocities yet have no subsequent remorse for their actions.

Naturally normal human society regards such behaviour as utterly repulsive and inimical to any sense of human compassion or empathy. Mental health professionals define such behaviour as sociopathic or a personality disorder known as anti-social personality disorder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial ... y_disorder

However, some of these terrorists/killers seem able to restrict their callous disdain for human life to a specific identified group(s). Some of the 7/07 bombers in London for example were devoted to their families. The same has been well documented regarding Nazi concentration guards. According to the second team of psychologists Breivik was not like a Schizophrenic or manic-depressive. He apparently responded to the psychologists questions and engaged with them without entering into obsessive delusions. So while we would all regard his world view as totally pernicious and sociopathic this does not make him mentally ill according to a current mental health diagnosis.

Mental health psychiatry is not a rigid field and arguably not an exact science either. Less than 40 years ago Gay and Lesbian sexuality was still defined as a psychological disorder by American psychiatrists. It was only in 1973 that the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association dropped homosexuality from its definition of psychological disorders requiring 'treatment'. Maybe our understanding of 'sanity' and 'madness' needs some updating too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic ... _Disorders

Here is an interesting article by Professor Ian Robertson on how Breivik seems to have used video games to systematically desensitize his emotions. The question raised is can sociopathic behaviour be induced in otherwise 'normal people'.

http://professorianrobertson.wordpress. ... sociopath/

Another article discussing the issue of the court's verdict Breivik was sane and therefore criminally responsible for the deaths of his 77 victims:

http://theconversation.edu.au/anders-br ... d-mad-9068

It is a pity we dont have exact natal data for Breivik. However, there is data for other sociopaths that have a lot of similarities. For example Timothy McVeigh:

http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/McVeigh,_Timothy

Mark
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly

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Pankajdubey wrote:
I think Brevik is a case of personality disorder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissist ... y_disorder

PD
I agree in part. Breivik seems to fit elements of both the antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders.

Actually, some psychiatrists have been floating a kind of personality disorder that incorporates elements of both the sociopath/anti-social and the narcissistic personality disorder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant_narcissism

Mark
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly

125
Whether it is of astrological importance, probably no.. but as an update;

First it was decided that Breivik would still have his computor as it was firmly fixed to a desk, with restricted internet access, and he would be able to read information but not send or distribute information from his cell. Then it was decided he would not have internet access but he would keep the computor as a typewriter. Now it has been decided that the computor shall be removed completely. Breivik has expressed his irritation and is now printing everything he has written on paper before the police come and remove the machine.
http://www.astronor.com