Shaken, Not Stirred: A Medical Diagnosis and Psychological Evaluation of James Bond

There is no way that James Bond could shoot a gun, not to mention stir a cocktail. The spy’s hand tremors, resulting from excessive alcohol consumption, would prevent him from performing even simple activities. In short, you would never want to put the fate of the world in the hands of a man who consumed over four times the recommended amount of alcohol. 

If you took 007 to bed with you, you would be similarly disappointed, as Ian Fleming’s character is at high risk for sexual dysfunction, along with a long assortment of alcohol-related diseases that will eventually kill him at the age of 56. 

A medical analysis of James Bond, based on a study of his drinking habits from all 14 Bond novels, was recently published in the British journal BMJ. 

The authors of the study challenge the notion that James Bond is to be seen as a strong role model, “someone admired for his performance under pressure and his ability to be master of all situations he encounters.”

Drinking is his undoing. Indeed, for someone with such an impeccable etiquette, he makes the most elementary mistake when it comes to ordering a martini: shaken, not stirred. 

You can read the study here.

A separate analysis of the fictional spy was conveyed to Big Think by Kevin Dutton, author of The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success. Dutton, a psychologist, doesn’t exactly view Bond as a role model either. And yet, Dutton finds something else in Bond’s psyche that he argues, counterintuitively, is of great social value.

Bond is “absolutely one of the classic examples of a functional psychopath,” Dutton says. He possesses characteristics that can be used to “benefit society rather than detract from society.”

It is Bond’s lack of conscience and remorse that society ought to value the most, as we need people like that to do our dirty work. For instance, a member of the special forces can dwell on killing a person, Dutton points out. If you do, Dutton says, “then the next bullet could be going through your head.”

So it is Bonds emotional detachment that suits him so well as a spy. And that is why we would want to put his psychopathic personality, if not his shaky hand, on the line to save us all. 

Watch the video here:

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