The manipulation there would argue for sociopathy, not against it, though.
But I think there are plenty of convincing arguments against sociopathy in the three episodes we have -- not least because the classically sociopathic behaviors he exhibits are not done for classically sociopathic reasons. (Ability to cry at will is apparently classically sociopathic, but doing it in order to gain something other than personal sympathy or pity is not, for example. Game-playing with humans as the pieces is sociopathic, but the willingness to play someone else's game is not. Moriarty, now, I think BBC's Moriarty is a sociopath in truth.)
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Date: 2010-09-25 02:00 am (UTC)But I think there are plenty of convincing arguments against sociopathy in the three episodes we have -- not least because the classically sociopathic behaviors he exhibits are not done for classically sociopathic reasons. (Ability to cry at will is apparently classically sociopathic, but doing it in order to gain something other than personal sympathy or pity is not, for example. Game-playing with humans as the pieces is sociopathic, but the willingness to play someone else's game is not. Moriarty, now, I think BBC's Moriarty is a sociopath in truth.)