The Psychology of Malignant Narcissists - Academy of Ideas

this After Skool presentation  was written and narrated by   Academy of ideas check out their  YouTube channel for more of their videos evil is not committed by people who feel  uncertain about their righteousness who question   their own motives who worry about betraying  themselves the evil in this world is committed   by the spiritual fat cats by the Pharisees  of our own day the self-righteous who think   they are without sin because because they are  unwilling to suffer the discomfort of significant self-examination most politicians Proclaim  themselves to be exemplars of virtue but many   of them compulsively lie engage in corruption  censor and demonize those who disagree with   them and enact policies that destroy Society are  such politicians aware of their hypocrisy do they   truly believe in the morally righteous self-image  they try to portray in this video drawing from the   insights of the American psychiatrist M Scott Peck  we explore the psychology of malignant narcissism   in order to better understand the evil that has  infected Modern politics M Scott Peck defines   evil as that Force residing either inside or  outside of human beings that seeks to kill life   or liveliness or as he continues evil is live  spelled backward evil is an opposition to life   specifically it has to do with unnecessary  killing killing that is not required for   biological survival evil is also that which kills  Spirit there are various essential attributes of   life particularly human life such as sentience  Mobility awareness growth autonomy will it is   possible to kill or attempt to kill one of these  attributes without actually destroying the body   all of us are capable of committing evil acts for  as aleksandr solzhenitsyn noted the line dividing   good and evil cuts through the heart of every  human being nonetheless two types of people are   particularly prone to evil actions Psychopaths and  malignant narcissists the psychopath's potential   for evil is well known but it is the malignant  narcissists who may be responsible for more of   the world's evil as they outnumber the Psychopaths  and as Peck writes in his book the people of the   LIE it would be quite appropriate to classify evil  people as constituting a specific variant of the   narcissistic personality disorder psychiatrists  have begun to pay increasing attention to the   phenomenon of narcissism but our understanding of  the subject is still in its infancy the central   characteristic of narcissism is an inflated sense  of self narcissists are overconfident and admire   themselves to a degree that is not warranted by  the reality of who they are or what they have   accomplished the narcissists infatuation with  a grandiose self-image leads to self-absorption   reducing their capacity to empathize with  the feelings and experiences of other people   narcissism exists on a Continuum some of the  milder forms of narcissism such as identifying   with an idealized self-image one creates on social  media are unhealthy but relatively benign at the   extreme end of the spectrum lies the pathology of  malignant narcissism in which one identifies with   an elusory self-image of moral Purity or as Peck  explains utterly dedicated to preserving their   self-image of perfection malignant narcissists are  unceasingly engaged in the effort to maintain the   appearance of moral Purity while they seem to lack  any motivation to be good they intensely desire to   appear good their goodness is all on a level of  pretense it is in effect a lie this is why they   are the people of the LIE malignant narcissism  is a defensive phenomenon that is rooted in a   deep fear of being inferior or inadequate  particularly in matters of morality due to   Childhood trauma growing up with hypercritical  or narcissistic parents or for other reasons of   upbringing socialization or genetics the malignant  narcissist cannot acknowledge that like everyone   else they make mistakes behave immorally and  possess a potential for evil that is rooted   in human nature or as peck writes what is the  cause of this arrogant self-image of perfection   this particularly malignant type of narcissism  basically it is fear malignant narcissists are   continually frightened that they will come face to  face with their own evil this terror is so chronic   so interwoven into the fabric of their being that  they may not even feel it as such and if they   could their omnipresent narcissism will prohibit  them from ever acknowledging it when Psych ically   healthy people commit an immoral or evil act  they acknowledge their wrongdoing feel guilt and   remorse and attempt to make amends by returning  to the side of the good most of us in other words   have a functioning conscience which places moral  constraints on our Behavior the conscience of the   malignant narcissist in contrast is forced into a  state of dorcy by continual acts of self-deception   as the malignant narcissist's identity is anchored  in a grandiose self-image of moral goodness   when he morally falters he resorts to  rationalizations confabulations and other   defense mechanisms to maintain a feeling of moral  righteousness thus bypassing the conscience and   escaping feelings of guilt because the malignant  narcissist silences his conscience with ongoing   self-deceptions he can repeatedly lie and  behave in ways that oppose life yet still   believe that he is on the side of good or as peek  explains further it is not their sins per se that   characterize malignant narcissists rather it is  the subtlety and persistence and consistency of   their sins this is because the central defect  of malignant narcissists is not the sin but the   refusal to acknowledge it rather than blissfully  lacking a sense of morality like the psychopath   malignant narcissists are continually engaged  in sweeping the evidence of their Evil under the   rug of their own Consciousness it is out of their  failure to put themselves on trial that their evil arises one of the main self-deceptive mechanisms  which the malignant narcissist uses to avoid   awareness of his morally imperfect self is  paradoxically the very mechanism that leads him to   commit some of his most evil acts this mechanism  is scapegoating which as Peck notes Works through   a mechanism psychiatrists call projection the  malignant narcissist unconsciously externalizes   the emotions and motivation he cannot accept in  himself attributing them to other people and he   then blames these targets for what in reality  are his own moral failings and wrongdoings   a predominant characteristic of the behavior of  malignant narcissists is scapegoating explains PEC   because in their hearts they consider themselves  above reproach they must lash out at anyone who   does reproach them since they must deny their  own Badness they must perceive others as bad they   never think of themselves as evil on the other  hand they consequently see much evil in others   narcissistic scapegoating is on Full display in  the political world many politicians today are so   desperate to appear morally righteous that they  categorically refuse to consider the possibility   that their policies mandates and social reforms  are the primary drivers of much that is wrong   with society when presented with evidence  of their catastrophic failures or when other   people challenge their morally Flawless self-image  political malignant narcissists double down on   their policies and Heap the blame for society  problems upon their favored scapegoats be it other   nations political opponents or individuals who  merely happen to hold differing political views   or as peek explains strangely enough malignant  narcissists are often destructive because they are   attempting to destroy evil the problem is that  they misplaced the Locust of the evil instead   instead of destroying others they should be  destroying the sickness within themselves as life   often threatens their self-image of perfection  malignant narcissists are often busily engaged   in hating and destroying that life usually in  the name of righteousness they sacrifice others   to preserve their self-image of perfection they  create for those under their Dominion a miniature   sick Society in observing the six state of  society we may be tempted to impose the diagnosis   of malignant narcissism on any politician we  disapprove of but in so doing we run the risk not   only of a misdiagnosis but worse of mimicking the  malignant narcissist scapegoating Behavior or as   Peck reflects indeed might I not be guilty of evil  Myself by so labeling others who disagree with my   opinions might I not be misusing the concept  of Evil by facilely applying it to any and all   who oppose my judgment to avoid misdiagnosing  and scapegoating others we need to become more   conscious of our dark side for the more aware  we are of our own moral failures and potential   for evil the less likely we are to project our  Dark Side onto others or as Yung writes many   projections can ultimately be integrated back into  the individual once he recognizes their subjective   origin but by facing up to our dark side we  do more than withdraw our projections we also   develop a six sense to detect the darkness which  lurks behind the malignant narcissist's morally   pure mask for as the psychologist Mary Louise  von Franz observed if one knows about the evil   possibilities within oneself then one develops  a kind of Second Sight or capacity for getting   a whiff of the same thing in other people to go  down into the depths of One's Own evil enables one   usually to develop the instinctual recognition  of corresponding elements in other people   with a heightened capacity to detect evil we can  help others overcome their naivity regarding the   reality of human evil for the reason malignant  narcissists are able to gain popular support and   persist in positions of political power is because  most people refuse to Fathom the fact that someone   who tries so hard to appear good can in reality  be morally corrupt most people in other words do   not recognize that evil has a tendency to cloak  itself in the good or as the psychologist Eric FR   observed the main fallacy which prevents people  from recognizing potential Hitlers before they   have shown their true faces lies in the belief  that a thoroughly destructive and evil man must   be a devil and look his part that he must bear  the sign of Cain so visibly that everyone can   recognize his destructiveness from afar such  Devils exist but they are rare much more often   the intensely destructive person will show a front  of kindliness he will speak of his ideals and good   intentions hence as long as one believes that the  evil man wears horns one will not discover an evil   man as more of us become aware of the political  evil that is dividing and destroying Society we   should try as much as possible not to let anger  and hatred Sully our attempts to be a force of   good malignant narcissists are easy to hate but  harboring hatred only nourishes their malevolence   and makes us easy targets of scapegoating hatred  also harms us through the stress it generates in   the mind and body rather than stewing in hatred we  should focus our energies on spreading the truth   as truth is one of the greatest weapons against  evil hence why Satan is often referred to as the   father of Lies We should call out the hypocrisy of  the political malignant narcissists expose their   lies mock their overweening moral pride and  watch on as the truth renders their behavior   increasingly desperate erratic and eventually  self-destructive Pride goeth before the fall   or as M Scott peck concludes the evil hate the  light the light of goodness that shows them up   the light of scrutiny that exposes them the light  of truth that penetrates their deception [Music] for more content 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Channel: After Skool

Views: 237,338

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Id: K6LPai6M_j8

Length: 13min 28sec (808 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 30 2024