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Essential Papers on Narcissism (Essential Papers in Psychoanalysis)

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This is a collection of 17 articles written by different authors at different times, from Freud on. It's certainly not pop-psychology style; this is scholarly stuff. But if you're up for some scholarly stuff, this is just what the title claims: Essential Papers on Narcissism. The variety of viewpoints makes this a good collection to give you a broad understanding of what's out there about narcissism. You'll probably like some of the articles more than others (the writing styles do vary), and probably agree with some more than others, but the bottom line is that there is worthwhile material here. I found it thought-provoking and edifying. But not a walk-in-the-park read.

The term "narcissism" (like "narcissist") seems to be used in different ways, with somewhat different meanings, by different people these days. Reading these articles will help you get a grip on what the important issues are, regardless of how you define the terms.

Heavy on theory (of course) and lingo that presupposes some background in psychodynamic concepts and terminology.

No one seems to agree what is pathological narcissism. Some theoreticians regard it as a culture-dependent theoretical construct. Others fail to sufficiently differentiate it from the Borderline or Anti-social personality disorder. Some trace its genesis to the first year or years (the formative years) of life. Yet others believe that it can form as late as early adolescence or even, as a reactive formation, in adulthood. There are those who believe that some forms of narcissism are transient and all variants of narcissism can be successfully treated. Others regard it as mental ("malignant") cancer - the side effects can be ameliorated with medication - but nothing more. You will find them all here, in this great tome of introductions to pathological narcissism by the masters. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".