Narcissism and the Self : Dynamics of Self-Preservation in Social Interaction, Personality Structure, Subjective Experience, and Psychopathology

The book examines how coevolved intraspecific aggression and appeasement gestures can give rise to complex social, cultural, and psychopathological phenomena. It argues that the individual's need regulate narcissistic supplies and maintain feelings of safety is the overriding determinant of human conduct and thought in mental health and illness. This book renews interest in the field of narcissism, showing that narcissism can become a crystallization point for theoretical convergence and simplification. It integrates Kohut's ideas with the works of his sometimes overlooked predecessors and contemporaries (especially Federn, Adler, Horney, Sandler) and revives links between psychoanalysis, on the one hand, and ethology, philosophy, and sociology, on the other. Departing from the insight that coevolved intraspecific aggression and appeasement gestures are critically important for social behaviour, the book asserts the need to maintain feelings of safety (narcissistic equilibrium) at the heart of a wide range of normal and psychopathological phenomena. This provides support for an evolutionarily sensible definition of the self and paves the way for a deterministic approach to culture and society Cover -- Contents -- List of Figures -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Affective Expressions -- 2.1 Aggression -- 2.1.1 Phylogenetic ritualization -- 2.1.2 Disdain and disgust -- 2.1.3 Control of resources -- 2.1.4 Enforcement of compliance and normality -- 2.1.5 Neutralization -- 2.1.6 Coercion and hatred -- 2.2 Appeasement and submission -- 2.2.1 Bonding and familiarity -- 2.2.2 Infantilisms and alloparental behaviour -- 2.2.3 Smile -- 2.2.4 Bowing and nodding -- 2.2.5 Greeting -- 2.2.6 The imaginary plane -- 2.2.7 Interaction with context and emotion -- 2.3 Care seeking and giving -- 2.3.1 Face-to-face interactions -- 2.3.2 Infantile cries -- 2.3.3 Distance-decreasing and contacting behaviours -- 2.3.4 Infantile appeals to care -- 2.3.5 Bonding and courtship -- 2.3.6 Exhibitionism -- 2.3.7 Social feeling -- 3 Affective States -- 3.1 Anxiety -- 3.1.1 Anxiety-related behaviours -- 3.1.2 Gregariousness -- 3.1.3 Attachment -- 3.1.4 Loneliness -- 3.1.5 Fear of strangers -- 3.1.6 Anxiety as a contagion -- 3.1.7 Basic anxiety -- 3.1.8 Disintegration anxiety -- 3.1.9 Fear of loss of love -- 3.1.10 Fear of castration -- 3.1.11 Shame -- 3.1.12 Fear of exposure -- 3.1.13 Conflict and defence -- 3.1.14 Anticipation and risk assessment -- 3.2 Safety -- 3.2.1 Self-satisfaction and self-esteem -- 3.2.2 Ego instincts -- 3.2.3 Attachment versus narcissism -- 3.2.4 Functions of the object -- 3.2.5 Responsiveness of the selfobject surround -- 3.2.6 Introjection of the source of approval -- 3.2.7 Replacement of the source of approval -- 3.2.8 Desire and the symbolic -- 3.2.9 Conversation -- 3.2.10 Wishful fantasy and activity -- 3.2.11 Subordination of instinctual drives -- 3.2.12 Conflict with the idealized image -- 3.3 Habitual transfer from danger to safety -- 3.3.1 Learning to escape from aversiveness -- 3.3.2 Hedonic control -- 3.3.3 Psychotaxis Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction....Pages 1-10 Affective Expressions....Pages 11-41 Affective States....Pages 42-101 Development....Pages 102-142 Superego....Pages 143-181 Self-Experience....Pages 182-217 Character Defences....Pages 218-263 Psychopathology....Pages 264-344 Interpersonal and Social Dynamics....Pages 345-384 Conclusion....Pages 385-391 Back Matter....Pages 392-408