What made Jeffrey Dahmer evil?

Answer 1

Jeffrey Dahmer WAS NOT EVIL! he was SICK!

Jeffrey Dahmer was not an evil man, yes what he did was sick and wrong but there were also psychological issues that went along with why he did what he did. So evil? No. Sick? Yes

What Dahmer had was a 'personality disorder' not a mental illness. They are completely different. It was this personality disorder that allowed him carry out these evil deeds.

UPDATE: I am leaving the above information in this answer so that readers can understand why the information provided is incorrect and know the difference between the terms used.

1. Jeffrey Dahmer did not have a personality disorder, he had a psycholsexual disorder called paraphilia. Hitler had a personality disorder called malignant Narcissism.

2. Both psycholsexual disorders and personality disorders are types of mental illness. Mental illness is the general category for illnesses and disorders affecting the mind and behavior.

As to the original question, what made Dahmer "evil" or sick is a matter of your favored psychological paradigm. Dahmer did in fact have a mental illness. Mental illness or diorder is diagnosed based on whether the behavior causes distress and impairs an important aspect of the individual's daily life. Most mental illnesses are considered abhorrent by society and vary on a continuum from "bad" to "evil" based on the societal view of the subject behavior. Dahmer attempted to find ways to control his urges to kill, however killing was not the drive for his disorder, deviant sexual desire was and the only way for him to fulfill his sexual desires was to kill his victims. For Dahmer the murder was merely collateral damage in his pursuits to experience satisfying sexual relations. What caused Dahmer's deviations is a matter of debate among psychoanalysts, behaviorists, cognitive psychologists, and evolutionary psychologists who all have different theories about how behavior is regulated by the mind.`

I have studied the Dahmer case. The mental disorder has been stablished since the day the police aprehended him. His family knew about his mental disorder way befor that, but they didn't know he was a serial killer. His mental condition is a main fact about him becoming a brutal serial killer which evil is a word that might describe him.

//Whether personality disorders are in themselves mental illnesses is open to debate. But what is clear is this. Mental illness, in the variety of forms that it may take, is essentially different from a personality disorder for this basic reason:Personality is formed in the human's first few years of life, thought to be formed from a combination of genetics and environmental influences. A person's basic personality, whether good or bad, is what it is, and will not alter much one way or another during a person's lifetime. This is established fact in the medical world. Furthermore, you cannot 'fix' someone's established personality, whether by drugs or theapy or a combination of both. No amount of pills or couch time will fix or mend a personality. Mental illnesses, on the other hand, can be treated in many instances with one or both of the above treatments. In fact many mental illnesses are now known to be caused by physical, medical problems such as chemical imbalances in the brain. So the debate rages on, but it must be remembered that there are very important differences in mental illness v. personality disorders. It also must be noted that it is entirely possible that many people suffer from both. While it may be true that Jeffrey Dahmer may have had a certain mental illness, it was his basic personality flaw that allowed him to act in such a horrific way toward his fellow man. For the very lucky few that have escaped a serial killer, in Dahmer's case Tracy Edwards, these lucky people report that the killer made a complete, sometimes physical change. Gone was the charmer, replaced by a homicidal monster with dead eyes, the scariest thing they have ever encountered. That metamorphoses is not caused by mental illness. In many cases it is a personality disorder in full swing. I refer to some of these killers as 'great pretenders'. They mimic human emotions to blend into their environment. Evil almost always is disguised so as not to reveal it's intent until it is too late for the victim. This is the 'mask' that slips off when it is no longer needed, unveiling the true personality underneath. So, was Dahmer mentally ill? It's possible. Was he evil, a 'great pretender', like Ted Bundy before him? Without a doubt, he was. Whatever mental illness he was or was not suffering from, what permitted his behaviour was his defective personality. Under the law, Dahmer was completely sane at the time of his crimes. He knew right from wrong, covered his crimes, destroyed evidence, lied when he was about to be discovered. This is the very essence of evil.

Answer 2

Jeffrey Dahmer committed his first murder in summer 1978. A lot of profecional in the field of medicine dictates many reasons for serial killers to start killing. I would it as simple as this. Their mind is not well emotionally and could suffer a personality disorder. Dahmer claimed that his compulsion to murder and nechrophilia came at the age of 14, but it is thought that his childhood, his parents getting divorced and the stresses that it put on him, was enough to change his thoughts into reality and gave him a reason to justify what he did.

//Dahmer was not suffering from a mental illness, he had a personality disorder, which is completely separate and unrelated to mental illnesses. The causes of personality disorders are not entirely understood but it is believed that a combination of genetics and environment are responsible in the making of a serial killer.

Answer 3

He was showing signs in early life. When young, impaled the heads of animals he killed on stakes in his yard. He used acid to scrape the meat off of the animals he collected. He began to fantasize about killing and mutilating men by the time he was a teenager and he had necrophilia desires. His mental state was what got him murdering his victims.

Jeff never killed any animals. he dissected animals that were already dead. usually roadkill.

Answer 4

In most cases there is no one reason why any individual becomes a serial killer. We are all a product of our genetics and environment. Dahmer had a deep-seated fear to have his lover leave him. So he killed them. Freezing some parts, eating others and making knicknacks from bones and skulls for his apartment.

Answer 5

Dahmer is one example of a serial killer that is seeminly normal with a normal childhood, that despite everything grows up to become a serial killer. Yes, his parent's marriage was a literal battlefield but if that was all that goes into the making of a serial killer most of us would be in serious trouble.

It is not fully understood what combination of factors creates this type of killer. It is probably several different reasons and when they all fall into the 'right' order, a killer is produced. One thing that is certain though, Dahmer's father, Lionel Dahmer, had violent fantasies as a young man. These types of fantasies are very common in serial killers. So we can only assume that Jeffrey was predisposed through his father's genes. But why was Lionel able to restrain himself when his son obviously could not? We just don't know.

Answer 6

Jeffrey Dahmer had a fear of being left alone. To prevent his victims from leaving he would consume their bodies, making them a part of him forever. Although a normal person can't really understand this, it made perfect sense to Dahmer himself.

Answer 7

THis is not a venue for that type of "question" due to the fact that it calls for an OPINION rather than a factual answer.

Answer 8

His mental state combined with alcohol.

Answer 9

Because he can’t help it