Thursday, October 8, 2009

Culture Of Narcissism


Here's an excerpt from Christopher Lasch's Culture Of Narcissism:
"The contemporary American may have failed, like his predecessors, to establish any sort of common life, but the integrating tendencies of modern industrial society have at the same time undermined his 'isolation.' Having surrendered most of his technical skills to the corporation, he can no longer provide for his material needs. As the family loses not only its productive functions but many of its reproductive functions as well, men and women no longer manage even to raise their children without the help of certified experts. The atrophy of older traditions of self-help has eroded everyday competence, in one area after another, and has made the individual dependent on the state, the corporation, and other bureaucracies.

Narcissism represents the psychological dimension of this dependence. Notwithstanding his occasional illusions of omnipotence, the narcissist depends on others to validate his self-esteem. He cannot live without an admiring audience, His apparent freedom from family ties and institutional constraints does not free him to stand alone or to glory in his individuality. On the contrary, it contributes to his insecurity, which he can overcome only by seeing his 'grandiose self'
reflected in the attentions of others, or by attaching himself to those who radiate celebrity, power and charisma. For the narcissist, the world is a mirror, whereas the rugged individualist saw it as an empty wilderness to be shaped to his own design."

33 comments:

  1. None of these statements are supported, related or even infer to one another. Conjecture at best, but mostly nonsense.

    "Narcissism represents the psychological dimension of this dependence."

    What??? That sentence makes the kind of sense that just doesn't.

    So now a personality disorder is a social phenomenon? You know, because Freud's Hysteria in women never made him a laughing stock.

    Just because certain disorders manifest differently in other contexts, doesn't mean the context holds any significance to understanding the disorder itself, only how it is represents. When did conjecture become a credible science?

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  2. Ah, I spoke too soon. I thought this was the new Dr. Drew book on Narcissism that I've heard about. After google, it appears to be by a "cultural historian".

    Which makes the pseudo-science nonsense make sense.

    But still. You write a book...maybe you should read a manual or something, take an intro course. Keep a dictionary handy.

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  4. M.E. Some of your posts are alright, but but I experience it as grindingly strained, dull, dim witted, insincere.

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  5. Maybe before you make a retarded comment you should actually think. Seriously. If you 'googled' this guy you would see he was consulted with by President Jimmy Carter on his speech to the nation about the danger of the direction American culture was heading. Maybe instead of just waiting to jump on any post here to prove your intellectual superiorty you should look, so you don't jump off the cliff of stupidity and embarrasement.
    Intro course? You're right. We should read your book on such studies. Oh that's right you don't have one. You don't even have a view. Just quadruple posts of rubbish critiques trying to sound like your educated.

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  6. Peter Pan we miss you at Lovefraud.com . Especially the comment you made at http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2009/06/18/a-society-where-everyone-is-a-sociopath/ as Genevieve79.You know that one that goes like this:

    "That sociopathworld link was incredibly chilling reading. I was especially amused by the article where an S idealized their ’species’ as somehow unique and different!
    Scary stuff if it wasn’t so bloomin funny!
    And for the record, though I’m no sociopath, if I met a baby who I knew would grow up sociopathic or to be another Hitler and I had the option of killing it, you’re damned right I would kill it!
    We Normals understand that there is a time and a place for killing, that sometimes killing/harming other living beings (human or animal), in certain circumstances, is essential. Sociopaths don’t get that distinction coupled with their tendency to follow the path of least resistance, and therein lies the problem…"

    It was strange that you came on here around that time too. Maybe coincidence. Right?

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  7. Wow, Ukan, you either are personally over invested in this guy or you just love anything that comes around to Jimmy Carter. Still doesn't make him a very valuable resource for information on psychology tho. It's not even watered down blog-psychology. And as far as what I can do or should do-which wasn't clearly communicated- what does that have to do with this guy and his wanna-be pop psychology nonsense? I hate red-herring BS, it's tedious and I can not tell if it's a result of immaturity or irrationality. The former I can tolerate if it's age appropriate, the latter is a terminal waste of my time.

    If you knew any of these terms in their academic or clinical context you'd find it bizarre at best and dishonest and self serving more likely.

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  8. WTF?

    Anon, email the dude. This isn't craigslist missed connections.

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  9. Sarah can you shutup long enough to even read these posts, or do you just jump to show your supposed intellectual prowess. Anyone with half a brain can see through what you did.
    You jumped at a post you knew nothing about. After you found out how dumb you looked you backed up half way and stood on the fence defending your stupidity. ->YOU<- are correcting someone who wrote a book so fantastic it earned him a advisory position to the President of the United States. ->YOU<- the idiot who didn't even know what book she was talking about. ->YOU<-who mistaked it for a book by some doctor that hosted Love Line. HA AHAHAHAHAH. You are ridiculous. Shutup while you still have any credibility. It's not the author of the book that makes me take his side, it's the person who's critiquing it. I couldn't standby and let something so dumb just float out there like nothing happend. Someone had to tell you that you shitted.
    I don't need a personal vestment or love of Carter to know bullocks when I see it. I just have a hard time listening to someone express their point of view who doesn't even know the topic we are speaking on, or who is so erratic they post on average three times in a row.

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  11. UKan wrote:
    "I just have a hard time listening to someone express their point of view who doesn't even know the topic we are speaking on, or who is so erratic they post on average three times in a row."

    lol well if this is true you must be a masochist sociopath given you like chatting on blog boards :o)
    But anyway, what's wrong with what she said? It looks like she was reacting more to what was said in the quote than anything else. I must say I do kind of agree with her the contents of the quote looks pretty hackneyed and worn out. How many times before will people have heard the exact same points made?

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  12. I like you sarah, you're a-ok.

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  13. Damn, I guess someone took my advice to heart. I don't even have to post any more.

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  14. Don't drum up anonynous support either. It's unbecoming.

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  15. UKAN, Are you or for that matter M.E. any less anonymous?

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  16. I don't create anonymous comments so I can have cheerleaders. As a matter of fact I have no cheerleaders. I find it strange when all of a sudden anonymous people start cheerleading someone, while that idiot stays silent.

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  17. HURRAH UKAN YOU ARE SO SMART AND AMAZING!! YOU ARE A BLOODY FOOL SARAH!!

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  18. Anonymous CheerleaderOctober 9, 2009 at 3:13 PM

    I like UKan. We love you here at sociopathworld.

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  19. UKan, everyone who disagrees with you can piss off. We love you always. You are so amazing!

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  20. "Sarah can you shutup long enough to even read these posts, or do you just jump to show your supposed intellectual prowess. Anyone with half a brain can see through what you did."

    This is a really good point. Sarah did jump the gun on this. She makes a critisism on a book she's never read before, then on the next comment tries to clean it up. Good call UKan.

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  21. There we go. Now that I've drummed up anonymous support, are my comments more legitimate?

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  23. Mr Insane, what is wrong with you? Seriously. I've never read a post from you that isn't pointing in the wrong direction. You have the brain of a headless chimp. You don't even make any sense and everyone's sarcasm goes completely over your retarded head. Now stop playing Captain-Save-A-Ho and go chew on some furniture.

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  24. Awe, I like Sarah. I think her opinion, based on the passage provided, is perfectly understandable.

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  25. Of course you do you dumb cunt. You have a blog that says that prostitutes shouldn't be treated like sexual objects and every human being should be treated with dignity and respect. Get your head out of the clouds.
    I like the one post you have talking about your pointless existence and flirting with suicide. I wish more people as worthless as you are were more serious about it.

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  26. FLMAO! You ppl are so funny sometimes.

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  27. Wow, this got weird. I must be the only American who had a long weekend vaca. Poor guys. If I had a Genie my first wish would be that Columbus discovered your country too!

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  28. Columbus din't discover your country you stupid fart chunk. There were already people there. Stop using google.

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  29. Interesting,
    The atrophy of older traditions of self-help has eroded everyday competence, in one area after another, and has made the individual dependent on the state, the corporation, and other bureaucracies.

    Narcissism represents the psychological dimension of this dependence.


    Without going into detail it could support research findings of changing attitudes in regard to empathy?

    Horton

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  30. I fail to see a bridge between narcissism and the individual's dependence on the state, the corporation, and other bureaucracies.

    Modernization alienates individuals from the production process, and that's it.

    I see cultural narcissism as a desperate solution in a nihilistic contemporary world.

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