Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited

Excerpts from the Archives
of the
Narcissism List

Part 8 cont.

6. Atheism

I am NOT an atheist. No one can make any logically rigorous statement about God. We can only state our beliefs concerning Him. No statement about God can have a truth value (=can be assigned a value of "true" or "false", logically speaking).

This is because we can devise no test to falsify the predictions emanating from such a statement (see Karl Popper and the concept of Falsification).

Thus, an atheist cannot say that God does not exist (this is a statement which MUST be substantiated by yielding a falsifiable prediction concerning the non-existence of God).

An atheist is, therefore, limited to saying that he BELIEVES that God does not exist.

So, an atheist is a BELIEVING person and his RELIGION is atheism.

I am an AGNOSTIC. I say that I DON'T KNOW if God exists or not because I cannot say anything logically-rigorous about his existence (or non-existence).

I presume that "The written word of God" is the assemblage of ancient texts known as the scriptures. Religion is a powerful "outer conscience", a substitute for an inner conscience (also known as Superego in psychoanalysis).

Like any state of suspension of disbelief (example: drug addiction) it provides an agenda (goal), a daily routine (outer skeleton when an inner one is missing), a sublimation and assimilation of obsessions and compulsions (through prayer and compulsive acts). It is no different, nor inferior, in my view, to psychotherapy. It is a narrative with rules of conduct. For further treatment, see my: http://narcissism.cjb.net/meta1.html .

7. The Human Machine

Never declare a victory over a narcissist. Like that legendary phoenix, they keep springing from the ashes of their immolated arguments, strengthened and reinvigorated.

To know what is an NPD - does not take an NPD, only an erudite psychotherapist. Or the right computer software. Humans are pretty basic machines. Feed the right texts to any intelligent agent, he will be able to predict human behaviour pretty well. This is ESPECIALLY true of PDs. They are even more basic than normal people. Their personalities are on a lower level of organization. Their reactions are rigid, boringly predictable. Normal people are much more varied, unpredictable and interesting.

8. Conscience

Narcissists can - and have - discussed conscience. Same way as a blind man can discuss colour, I guess ... Freud seems to have been a narcissist. In any case, there can be no "authority" about conscience because it is a figment of our private language. We can judge only derivative behaviors, not underlying emotions. We cannot communicate our inner world. We can only discuss, analyze and dissect only the language that we use to discuss our inner world. 

I grant you that maybe you behave morally. That does not make you a conscientious person. I can decide to behave morally for the rest of my life - and not have an ounce of conscience. As, in this group, I am empathic and helpful (to the best of my ability), patient and accepting - but I am devoid of empathy.

Behavior can be simulated. We cannot infer about inner truths from outer ones. This is why "mens rea" (a criminal motive) is so difficult to establish and the courts prefer to go by one's actions and circumstances.

9. BPD and NPD

The DSM thinks that BPD is not that different than NPD. Borderlines are as manipulative and don't have a conscience. I think each PD has its own narcissistic supply:

HPD - Sex, seduction, flirtation, romance, body
NPD - Adulation, admiration, attention, fame, celebrity
BPD - Presence (they are terrified of abandonment)
AsPD - Money, power, control, fun

BPDs seem to me to be NPDs who are scared of being abandoned. They know that if they hurt people, they might abandon them. So, they are very careful. They DO care deeply not to hurt others - but this is selfish: they don't want to lose those others, they are dependent on them. If you are a drug addict, you are not likely to pick up a fight with your pusher.

10.  The Personality Disordered

They are mortified by the increasing probability of abandonment following  their behavior.

Each PD has its own "story", a "narrative" (see my: http://narcissism.cjb.net/meta1.html ). The way to healing is replete with the residues of these narratives. To heal, a PD MUST break through his or her narrative and OUT into the world while assuming personal responsibility.

All PDs engage in scapegoating and bag-punching. To the personality disordered, their parents, abusers, the world, God, or history are responsible for what they are and for what they do DECADES after the original abuse. Research shows that the brain is more plastic than many thought. I can CHOOSE to heal. If I don't - it is because I gain from my infirmity. The same is true for BPDs, AsPDs and every other PD.

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