4. (Christian Sanchez) SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS, SOCIOPATHY, DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR, TERRORISM UNABOMBER IN HIS OWN WORDS, NETFLIX EPISODES 1-4

 

• Please summarize this series.

            Netflix’s Unabomber – In His Own Words, is a four-episode series about Ted Kaczynski, also known as the “Unabomber,” and his activities of domestic terrorism that resulted in costly incidents or death to his victims. The four episodes travel through his years of activity in the late 20^th Century, while also providing Ted’s background, and his interviews after his arrest on April 3, 1996. The series provide details about his academic background, his participation in a Harvard experiment, his methodology to manufacture bombs, his manifesto and personal journal, the FBI investigation of his case, and it closes with his imprisonment, his brother’s participation on his capture, and more insight on his anti-industrialist philosophy.

•           Using the information in the series please give me your diagnosis(es) of Ted Kaczynski using information from the case and the DSM 5 criteria to substantiate your diagnosis(es). List at least 5 examples for your diagnosis.

            I diagnose Ted Kaczynski with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), Delusional Disorder, Social Anxiety, and Depressive Disorder:

Ø  Ted has a ASPD because he does not conform to social norms, and so he engaged in domestic terrorism that killed 3 people; he lacks remorse for his victims; and he is verbally irritable toward his relatives.

Ø  Kaczynski may also have Delusional Disorder: his preoccupation and thinking about technological advancements and industrialization were extreme, and ended up disrupting his life.

Ø  Social Anxiety and Depressive Disorder: possibly due to his IQ of 167, Kaczynski had a difficult time socializing with other people. He skipped a grade and did not fit with the older children, and usually played beside other kids instead of playing with them. This Social Anxiety might have caused him to develop depression, which contributed further to his withdrawal from society.

Besides that, his participation on a study conducted by Dr. Henry Murray might have caused him to develop PTSD, or accentuated his anxiety and depression disorders. It is also important to note that Ted himself wrote in his journal that he did not want to be regarded as insane, and he maintained that his motivations were rational reactions to the era.

•           How was Ted able to escape justice for so long?  Please use evidence listed in the series.

            Ted Kaczynski avoided the FBI for as long as he did for many different reasons: first, he was meticulous when manufacturing his bombs, leaving no leads in his devices; second, the FBI wrongly characterized him as a “blue-collar airplane mechanic,” and according to Ted, were highly incompetent throughout his case; third, he was isolated from society in a cabin located outside Lincoln, Montana; and fourth, he claimed to be a group rather than an individual. His isolation and intelligence were the determinant factors for his successful avoidance of the law. Once he exposed his ideas to the public through the publication of his manifesto, his brother - Dave Kaczynski – recognized him and aided the authorities in his arrest.

•           What about the victims? Why did Ted choose this particular people? Please substantiate this question with information from the series and your clinical knowledge.

            According to Kaczynski, his actions had the ultimate intention of attracting attention to his anti-technologist philosophy, which warned about a loss of human freedom in modern society due to the advancement of technology and industrialization. He targeted professors, engineers, scientists, and businessmen.

•           Where is Ted now and was justice served?  Explain in depth.

            Ted Kaczynski is currently serving a life sentence without possibility of parole in a federal facility near Florence, Colorado. The government will sell his writings, books, and other possessions online, and the money gained from the sale of his property will be distributed to several of his victims. He is a published author, and has reliable communication with the outside world. Justice was “served” as per the due legal process of his case that led to his final verdict.

•           What do you feel after watching this series?  Explain in depth.

            This series makes me feel intrigued on Ted’s philosophy as written in his manifesto. He is undeniably intelligent, but he is also morally unstable. This sparks a curiosity to see a written example of a highly intelligent individual producing and acting on ideas that destroyed his life. It is also an interesting example of the apparent relationship between high intelligence and potential mental-illness or insanity.

•           Identify and briefly explain 5 new ideas/statements/facts that you learned in this series.

1.      The history of the Unabomber: the whole events surrounding Ted Kaczynski was unknown to me.

2.      The anti-technologist philosophy and the Unabomber Manifesto written and developed by Ted: I was unaware of the existence of these ideas up until I watched these episodes.

3.      Isolation in Montana: it seems like Montana is tolerant towards hermits, and they are in fact common in the region.

4.      In the great scheme of the Unabomber case, the FBI failed to capture Kaczynski without the help of the public. And according to Ted himself, the FBI was simply too incompetent to find him. This leads me to think that the public as a whole is more efficient at solving complicated cases such as the Unabomber’s than the FBI.

5.      High IQ, Social Anxiety, Delusion Disorder, and ASPD may correlate with each other. And I am curious about the tendency of serial killers of having these disorders and traits.

•           Find 5 outside sources on ONE the topics covered by the series. Seek academic, research-based sources. Briefly explain why you chose these sources.  Briefly explain how these sources coincide with the topic above you chose.  Use the library databases by accessing this link.  http://www.mdc.edu/learning-resources/libraries/.  This means 5 articles from the library databases cited in APA and the link pasted below.

Source 1:

Moen, O. M. (2019). The Unabomber’s ethics. Bioethics, 33(2), 223–229. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12494

            The above paper directly discusses and criticizes the Unabomber’s anti-industrial philosophy, which is a main topic of the series. I chose it because I wanted to read what other academics have written about this philosophy.

Source 2:

Sánchez de Ribera, O., Kavish, N., Katz, I. M., Boutwell, B. B., & Back, M. (2019). Untangling Intelligence, Psychopathy, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Conduct Problems: A Meta‐analytic Review. European Journal of Personality, 33(5), 529–564. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2207

            This research investigates the association between intelligence and ASPD. The study found a negative correlation between IQ and ASDP, but it found a positive correlation between IQ and defiant disorder. I chose this article because it supports the argument that my diagnosis is incorrect: Ted might not be anti-social, but he might have a defiant personality disorder.

Source 3:

Rahman, T. (2018). Extreme Overvalued Beliefs: How Violent Extremist Beliefs Become “Normalized.” Behavioral Sciences (2076-328X), 8(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs8010010

            In this paper, the authors discuss the form of extreme overvalued beliefs (EOB). Kaczynski may be diagnosed as delusional, based on his extreme thinking. The coincidence rests on the interest on extreme beliefs and its consequences on groups or individuals. I chose this article because it may help understand why the Unabomber thinks the way he does.

Source 4:

Visdómine Lozano, J. C., Gil Luciano, B., & Gil Roales-Nieto, J. (2019). Aproximación contextual-funcional a la psicopatía: análisis de casos. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 19(2), 141–161.

The above scholarly article proposes a functional-contextual interpretation of psychopathic behavior that provides an alternative explanation of psychopathy, in which psychopaths are not depicted as having significant brain differences to explain their behavior. The series and this paper coincide on the topic of psychopathy; however, this article would provide an alternative to explain Ted’s behavior, and that is why I chose it.

Source 5:

Mercer, N., Crocetti, E., Meeus, W., & Branje, S. (2017). Examining the relation between adolescent social anxiety, adolescent delinquency (abstention), and emerging adulthood relationship quality. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 30(4), 428–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2016.1271875

            The above per-reviewed article focuses in the relation between Social Anxiety and delinquency, and it found that, at an early age, this anxiety protects against delinquency; however, in adulthood, Social Anxiety and delinquency co-occur. Ted Kaczynski may be diagnosed with Social Anxiety, which was a topic illustrated by his childhood and later social interactions. The coincidence between the series and the above article exists on the focus of Social Anxiety and its possible effect on delinquency. I chose this text because it could serve to explain Ted’s behavior during his younger years, and his criminal activities at a later age.

•           Does your related research generally support the series’ arguments or contradict them? Explain.

            The series itself does not make an argument: It is informative rather than persuasive. However, the individuals interviewed have many stances that attempt to explain the terrorist activities of the Unabomber, and my first source is a direct discussion and criticism of his philosophy.

•           Review this series right here.

 

1.      Write about the clarity of the series and interviews.

The series is chronologically organized, the events follow logically one after the other; the people interviewed are directly related to the events; and even the Unabomber himself makes an appearance.

2.      Is the series catered to a specific group of academicians, professionals, or students?

The series does not target any of the previous suggestions. This Netflix series seems to have been made for the general public with a Netflix membership.

3.      Rate the reliability and credibility factor of the series. Is it giving up to date information?

The four episodes aired on February 22, 2020. Its release and production are recent, meaning that the information used is up to date. It is reliable and credible because the people being interviewed were directly involved in the Unabomber case, including the Unabomber himself.

4.      Is the series entertaining or interesting? Why?

This series was highly interesting because of the many topics it explored: Psychologically speaking, it is a source of psychological study for many different personality disorders; from a philosophical perspective, it is a standpoint on the relationship between the human race and the technological era; and from a criminologically perspective, it is a unique case of one of the most unique serial killer of the 20^th Century.