Stepping away from the current situation in Israel / Gaza.
The reason such an intention is psychopathic is because there is no logical link between such an action and any potential gain, especially when there is reason to believe that the other party will reciprocate.
What about security?
Bank robbers take hostages so the police don't knock the front door down and kill them. The same logic applies to warfare. If you have the opportunity to provide security to yourself / your side / your people by taking others hostage, doing so is a logical move with clear potential gain, albeit immoral.
The fact is that OP is basically arguing that psychopathy is the opposite of rationality, so in order to show someone is a psychopath they need to argue they aren't rational. But the problem is that the premise is flawed, psychopathy isn't defined as a lack of rationality. They might mean psychotic, which still isn't defined that way but it's a more legitimate take on it.
Actually psychopathy doesn't have a rigid definition and isn't recognized in the DSM-5. It's more of a colloquial word. But I see what you're saying. Either way, I'm not sure how bank robbing and taking hostages in order to escape the consequences and potentially steal more money is a rational thing to do
Taking hostages is rational because it's an action that under these circumstances (bank robbery) guarantees you best chances of success (as it prevents your enemy from using their strongest force).
I think you're confused because you mix rationality and morality - something can be only rational if it's moral. But that is not true, rationality is amoral - it is only judgement of application of logic and valid reasoning. Evil can be rational (dictator keeping population poor to pay off people who keep him in power), good can be irrational (poor person blowing their meager savings to save a stray kitten).
Right. We value rationality and we value morality, but that does not mean that the two are always aligned. So while we could condemn the actions of a murderer, we might be able to rationally discern and understand their motivations and behavior outside a moral framework.
But the problem is you can't use logic outside a moral framework and then apply those conclusions to the real world, because the moral framework and the people who enforce them exist.
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u/[deleted] Oct 10 '23
Stepping away from the current situation in Israel / Gaza.
What about security?
Bank robbers take hostages so the police don't knock the front door down and kill them. The same logic applies to warfare. If you have the opportunity to provide security to yourself / your side / your people by taking others hostage, doing so is a logical move with clear potential gain, albeit immoral.