The word of the week is "narcisissm".
"Narcissism" is a word that obviously comes to us from Greek myth, although the version of the tale most familiar to us comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses. In the Roman version, the unrequited heterosexual love of the nymph Echo replaces the unrequited homosexual love of the youth Ameinias, which was present in the Greek version.
We owe this word to the late nineteenth century psychologists' love of myth. Freud credits P. Näcke's 1899 work, Die sexuellen Perversitäten for introducing this term into the psychological lexicon. Not every technical use of the term "narcissism" implies abnormality, although the morbid potential of narcissism must be acknowledged. Freud, for example, distinguishes between "primary narcissism" and "secondary". "Primary narcissism" is healthy self love. "Secondary narcissism", by contrast, is a pathological development in which the individual loses the ability to attach his libido to things outside himself. Both primary and secondary narcissism are, in Freud's view, rooted in the same non-rational psychosexual developmental conflicts, and so are two sides of the same coin.
There's obviously quite a bit more to Freud's developmental theory of narcissism. Sometimes one wonders, when considering Freud's developmental theories, whether he was sublimating an unacceptable fantasy of becoming an hydraulic engineer. Nonetheless, secondary narcissism, the morbid sort of narcissism, is a considerable practical problem for clinical practitioners. Morbidly narcissistic individuals are unable to form attachments with others, including their caregivers.
It is the morbid type of narcissism that people intend when they use the word colloquially.
What exactly is it that makes this kind of extreme self-love morbid? The modern DSM-IV has nine criteria for the Narcissistic Personality Disorder, five of which are needed to justify a diagnosis:
1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement
6. is interpersonally exploitative
7. lacks empathy
8. is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
Clearly, to exhibit five or more of these characteristics would be extremely unusual. Very few people whom we call "narcissists" in a colloquial sense would meet these criteria. Still, we mean something morbid, just not necessarily clinically so. We should be very clear when we use this word whether we are doing so in a clinical sense (which most of us are unqualified to do), or in a the looser, colloquial sense.
Now, the Word Sommelier performs his office here with the purpose of enhancing the word selections available to followers of current events. What from this week's news could possibly suggest the word "narcissism"?
Well, it seems that people are stuck on exactly how to describe John McCain's problems with the definition of "rich" and recalling the number of houses he owns. "Out of touch" seems a bit vague; "arrogant" a bit too narrow. Both are a bit too generic as accusations.
Still, it seems to the Word Sommelier that if thinking 4.9 million is middle class or having so much money that you can't count your properties are political sins, they are venial sins. What is most damaging to McCain is his responses to the inevitable attacks. Consider this one:
I define rich in other ways besides income Some people are wealthy and rich in their lives and their children and their ability to educate them. Others are poor if they're billionaires.
This in itself is an inoffensive little homily, but one that must obviously ring hollow in the mouth of such a wealthy man, given that he is being accused of insensitivity to the economic pain of ordinary families. Given the evidence in question, this accusation has no logical force, and while logic is often too subtle for politics, there are certainly non-subtle ways to refute this accusation. But McCain, curiously, declines to do so.
Why?
Freud's characterization of "secondary narcissism" is that the narcissist hoards his love; he is unable to connect that love to outside objects to engage in reciprocal love. This fits most closely with the colloquial sense of the word "narcissism". A "narcissist" is not good at connecting with others. He is too concerned with himself, aggrandizing or defending himself. If your spouse were to say to you that your words show that you don't really love him or her, the sensible response is a demonstration of love. The narcissistic response is to dispute the meaning of those words.
It has been said that is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. The same can be said for accusations that one is uncaring.