Greg's review
The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations
by Christopher Lasch
Greg's review
The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations by Christopher Lasch
Greg's review
rating:
This book is referred to a lot, so I decided to check it out. It is an insightful look into American culture and, I think, ahead of its time. (1973) Most books like this lose relevancy as soon as the age passes in which they were written. For the most part, this has not. It's Freudian presuppositions are annoying, but I still appreciated some of its insights.
Narcissism is not selfishness, but is defining yourself by how the world sees you. One of the tools he uses to identify our culture is to look at the fringe. Personality disorders, he claims, are not binary - some have it, some don't - but a spectrum. And if you look at the most common problems presented in the psychiatrist's offices, you will understand the personality of the whole culture. A hundred years ago, all the patients had phobias and hand-washing problems. Today, one physchiatrist claimed, "All we see are narcissists."
He talks about how things like writing, work, sport, relations between the...more
Narcissism is not selfishness, but is defining yourself by how the world sees you. One of the tools he uses to identify our culture is to look at the fringe. Personality disorders, he claims, are not binary - some have it, some don't - but a spectrum. And if you look at the most common problems presented in the psychiatrist's offices, you will understand the personality of the whole culture. A hundred years ago, all the patients had phobias and hand-washing problems. Today, one physchiatrist claimed, "All we see are narcissists."
He talks about how things like writing, work, sport, relations between the...more
