A Look into ISIS

A Look into ISIS

In today's headlines, one cannot escape the news coming from the Middle East day by day, with the group known as ISIS dominating the headline as their newly formed country, formed from land seized from Iraq and Syria. It is within these cities that people live under Islamic Law, creating an authoritarian state, planning on extending ISIS's reach through the Middle East, as well as calling for jihad attacks on their western enemy, such as three people from New York have been arrested for planning ways to kill President Obama, hijack a plane or attack US military soldiers (Sanchez). By looking to this group, one can apply the work and theorizing of James Fallon, within his book The Psychopath Inside. Reading through this, one can theorize with neuroscience on the brain, backgrounds and behaviors of these who fight for ISIS, overall looking at how one may be susceptible to such radical religious ideals, why some may leave their own country to fight, and why such a group could have such an easy time establishing a following in a war-filled culture.

Looking at how ISIS has come to be, if some of those following ISIS were to be subject to an fMRI, they might have some similarities to James in his early teen years, as their hyperactive ventral prefrontal cortex could lead to such hyper-religiosity (Fallon, 118), allowing for the followers of ISIS to create such a radical form of Islam. Unlike in James, this hyperactivity of the ventral prefrontal cortex was not compensated and decreased by the dorsal prefrontal cortex, allowing for those individuals to stay in such a radical and frankly, non-logical state into adulthood. We can also look at the evidence regarding the warrior gene, This warrior gene, showing more commonly in males, resulting in increases with aggression, antisocial behavior and psychopathy via the MAOA allele. This gene is more common in war-based culture, as those that are aggressive survive the battles, leading to selection for the warrior gene. (Fallon, 114-118). Living in the Middle East, seen as a hotbed for religious and tribal wars, could have created a society that has selected for the warrior gene. Then, at the accumulation of all of this natural selection, is the formation of ISIS. Fallon's work does show that those in more hostile environments, such as the desert of the Middle East, have lower rates of the warrior gene, as those in the environment need to group and cooperate to survive (Fallon, 116). This could easily be countered by such the long history of violence in the region, where as only a few generations of war would not make such a heavy impact, but the extent of the wars in the region, with their ruthlessness and extreme lengths, seem to have become an exception to Fallon's theory.

Recruits for ISIS are not just Muslims from within the Middle East. Many people, including up to 180 Americans, have been recruited from other western countries. It has been especially prevalent over the last week, as three English women and three American men have been arrested as they looked to join ISIS, as well as collaborating to assassinate Obama, hijack a plane or join the US military to try to harm other soldiers (Sanchez & Freytas-Tumura). While some are actually believers in the ISIS ideals, others joining could been seen as psychopaths, addicted to the adrenaline rushes, looking to join ISIS not for the ideals that they follow. They might not have a history of such drastic ideas, but "like an addict, they have to do more and more to get a buzz, they need more and more experiences to feel anything" (Fallon, 153). This could only be seen as the most extreme cases, as psychopaths look for revenge for the abuse or the transgressions of the western world (Fallon 147). It is in this that those that are leaving to join ISIS have been abused or outcasted in western society, bent on getting revenge, thus joining ISIS to try to hurt those that went against them. Fallon can also explain how these people can appear normal within society, such as how Fallon feigned empathy constantly while he manipulates and messes with those around him (Fallon, 160). It is through this feigned empathy, used to hide out of the spotlight, making those around them surprised as they abandon their homes and loved ones to fight in the Middle East. So overall, Fallon's work can go on to explain those psychopaths that look to ISIS to get the buzz as they look for the bigger adrenaline rushes, while targeting the western world for its transgressions against the Muslim world.

Overall, one can look to ISIS and explain various aspects, such as their origin and their recruits, using theories and data from James Fallon;s book The Psychopath Inside. It is through this that others can look to evaluate the ideals and composition of ISIS, as well as possible ways to try to stem the recruitment rates, thus helping fight against the religious tyranny shown through the Middle East with the rise of ISIS.

Fallon, J. (2013) The Psychopath Inside. New York, New York: Penguin Group.

Sanchez, R. (2015, February 15). Authorities: Three men attempted to join ISIS, had ambitious plans. CNN. Retrieved February 26,2015 from <http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/25/us/new-york-terror-plot/>

Freytas-Tamura, K. (2015, February 24). Teenage Girl Leave for ISIS, and Others Follow. The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2015 from <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/world/from-studious-teenager-to-isis-recruiter.html>