Evil is Malignant Narcissism

M. Scott Peck, in his book People of the Lie, suggests that truly evil people demonstrate "malignant narcissism", a term coined by Erich Fromm.

Interestingly, Peck says this narcissism is characterized by an "unsubmitted will". p. 78 He goes on...everyone who is mentally healthy submits themselves to something higher than themselves. Be it God, an ideal, truth, etc. The narcissist is consumed with his/her own image and his/her desires (specifically that they not be intruded upon).

"In Buber's word, the malignantly narcissistic insist upon 'affirmation independent of all findings'." p. 80 Peck distinguishes between sin "missing the mark" and evil, which the malignant narcissist demonstrates, which involves both a denial of any sin, cover-up, and/or blame-placing.

This kind of narcissist has an "unacknowledged sense of their own evil nature. Indeed, it is this very sense from which they are frantically trying to flee. The essential component of evil is not the absence of a sense of sin or imperfection but the unwillingness to tolerate that sense. At one and the same time, the evil are aware of their evil and deperately trying to avoid that awareness." p. 76

Thus the attempts of the truly evil to get rid of the guilt instead of the sin.

Contrast this with psychopaths or sociopaths who don't seem to have a moral grid. They can commit an unspeakable act and not know either that they have done something wrong nor the harm that this action caused.

Tomorrow I'll probe into the problem of division of the conscience within organizations, and because the US gov't is itself a big organization will ask the question if the US demonstrates signs of malignant narcissism.

Try this at home, its fun:

From the September 13, 2007 edition of The Economist. Algorithms
Business by numbers

People often make mistakes when they key in their credit-card numbers online. With millions of transactions being processed at a time, a rapid way to weed out invalid numbers helps to keep processing times down. Enter the Luhn algorithm (see [above] ), named after its inventor, Hans Luhn, an IBM researcher. The numbers on a credit card identify the card type, the issuer and the user's account number. The last number of all is set to ensure that the Luhn algorithm produces a figure divisible by ten. If it is, the card number has been properly entered and the processing can go ahead.

Life Stories

After receiving a warm towel to freshen myself at the beginning of an Asia flight several years ago, I thought about carrying this into my life here in the States.

In fact, from my travels I've thought about other new practices I should adopt here in the states.

1) no shoes worn in the house.
2) slippers (adapted from flip-flops) throughout the house.
3) eye mask used on occasion at home along with ear plugs.

However, the one related to the story above is how I wanted to create a warm towel for soothing refreshment.

To start the process, I boiled a pot of water. A big pot, since I didn't have something small. I hung a large towel over the pot to aborb the moisture wafting up into the towel. The towel, limping from the moisture it absorbed, curled under the pot and fell onto the burner. Said towel caught on fire. Finally was manuevered to the sink and doused with water. Emergency averted.

Jara told me later that I should wet the towel and put it in the microwave. Genius.

My Amway Encounter

When I was working for a bank a few years ago, I stopped one morning on the way to get some gas.

There was a car just across the pump and a fellow I never met, broached the conversation: you look like you're going places!

Figuratively or literally?, I asked. (I wish I asked).

So anyway, I listened to a few of his tapes...the success stories of good salesmen. Double diamonds or something like that.

Never did enter Amway.

Andre Rieu

I used to think that PBS put its best programming on during their fund drives; to remind people how different and great PBS is and also as an expression of thanks for people's support.

But after suffering through several seasons of fund drives (seeing both NE and IA PBS fund drives) and therefore seeing Andre Rieu (violinist) in concert over and over, my new theory is that they hold their regular great programming hostage and won't put it back on the air until people fork over a little more dough. As we keep trying to see America's Test Kitchen, Everyday Food, History Detectives, Antiques Roadshow, etc., but instead see flipping Andre Rieu, we can't take it anymore and call in our credit card number.

But then this weekend, during Sunday school when everyone is giving thanks for something that happened this last week, a lady gives thanks for being able to see Andre Rieu in concert the night before! She won the tickets in a radio contest and loved the performance.

Ouch. How can I be so different that I cringe at what she loves?

There is a solution for everything...

In less than two days watching t.v., I noticed that there is a solution for nearly everything:

- LIPITOR: Cholesterol
-ASMANEX: Control Asthma
-AVODART: Shrinks Prostate
-SPIRIVA: Breath Better
-RENEWIN JOINT THERAPY: With Condrointen for Joints
-YAZ: Control PMDD
-ADVAIR: Control COPD
-ZETIA: Cholesterol
-VERAMYST: Seasonal Allergies (part of commercial states...how it works is not entirely known)
LOESTRIN24: Shorten Periods
DETROL LA: Overactive Bladder
ORENCIA: Arthritis
GARDASIL: Vaccine for Cervical Cancer
CYMBALTA: Depression
HUMIRA: Arthritis
BYETTA: Weight Loss?

You are also encouraged to talk to your doctor regarding the following conditions: Ulcerative Colitis, Insulin and Forinsulin.com, and the Lap-Band System Surgery for a new form of stomach shrinking.

This doesn't include the 13 over-the-counter pharma/testing products also being encouraged or the 4 agri-business/pharma products advertised.

Thomas Friedman stole my line...

Many of you heard me years ago share the following:

If you are one in a million Chinese kid, there are still 1,000 more just like you.

Thomas Friedman is now using essentially the same line on his book tour. Except that he uses the figure 1,200. :-(

Mine was hyperbole and I mostly stopped using it. But it has a life of its own.