In Greek mythology, the character of Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. He does not fall in love with his true self, but with a reflection or a once removed distortion of his true self.
Like Narcissus, we all prefer the more flattering image we project than the reality of who we are. We engage in fake formalities because it is a harmless and necessary feature of
an efficient social life.
We are all, to some extent, dependent on the perception of others and we subconsciously manipulate those perceptions in order to secure some admiration. Image crafting is part of how we acquire a sense of self. And there is nothing phony or evil about that.
However, when a fake image becomes a dominant and permanent feature of one’s personality, then we are not dealing with a healthy social persona anymore, but with a pathological and malignant condition known as narcissism.
What is Narcissism?
Narcissism is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy, a grandiose sense of self, a belief that you are superior to others, and an insatiable need to be admired.
In his best-selling book, People of the Lie, the late psychiatrist Scott Peck proposed that narcissists are not only evil but that they should be diagnosed accordingly. He is not the only one who made this unconventional diagnostic leap.
The social psychologist Eric Fromm, who was the first to coin the term ‘malignant narcissist,’ describes it as being a “severe mental sickness” representing “the quintessence of evil.”
What is Evil?
According to our many cultural motifs, evil has no power except through the extortion of energy from others. The bad energy we feel when we are around certain people is the sensation of having our own energies depleted. The metaphor of a vampire is an accurate one.
Hollywood has mastered the depiction of evil through its many metaphorical devices. But more importantly, Hollywood itself actually provides us with the quintessential analogy to the understanding of all evil.
This because, the life of someone with a personality disorder is nothing more than a projection, like a film on a screen. And we are the spectators who are totally unaware that the characters and the plot are all a lie; A lie that entirely depends on our psychological cooperation, or to use a Hollywood term, our willing ‘suspension of disbelief.’
It is important to understand that evil cannot exist independently of human perception and relies exclusively on our participation. In other words, evil is man-made. It is the smoke, the screen and the mirrors which we can shatter simply by going backstage and demystifying all its cheap little special effects.
Back Stage Access (perception is not reality)
A person with Narcissistic Personality disorder or NPD is locked into a disturbed and disorganized way of thinking. Such individuals are programmed to ignore the truth and by extension morality, because the only reality they are permitted to occupy is the space of parental expectations.
There are two developmental pathways that can lead to Narcissistic personality disorder. The first path can develop when a child is severely abused. The second is when a child is spoiled and overprotected to the extent that they are prevented from developing a personality in accordance with social rules and/or laws of nature.
Both developmental paths, whether its pain or privilege, can lead the child to invent a false self or image that is emotionally bulletproof as a way of dealing with the emotional wounds of an abnormal upbringing.
Over time the child’s organic identity, or what we call fitra in the Islamic tradition, is intentionally and slowly mutilated. It is at this point that a deeply wounded ego is tempted to strike the Faustian bargain or what we refer to in urban legends as a ‘pact with the devil.’
This “pact” is the impetus for the emergence of an emotionally self-sufficient false self, because that which is false cannot experience pain. This false self is one of perfection, fully equipped with all the trappings of moral superiority.
Of course, This is not a conscious process but rather a defense mechanism that evolves in response to abnormal circumstances manufactured by others; typically, authority figures.
Abuse in the form of pain is one path to developing narcissism. The other path is unearned privilege (as in the child who ‘can do no wrong’).
Without a healthy exposure to the pangs of reality, such children are robbed of the self-worth and healthy pride that would naturally evolve in response to the normal struggles of life.
The post Narcissism and the Mystery of Human Evil appeared first on About Islam.
source https://aboutislam.net/family-life/self-development/narcissism-and-the-mystery-of-human-evil/
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