In praise of narcissism. (2017)

“Narcissism is … a duty to watch ourselves, vigilantly self-regulating our appearance in the world … And these kinds of self-reflections are not always wasteful.”

Shahidha Bari

Times Literary Supplement,
28 April 2017

“Narcissus lends his unhappy name to those who are inordinately self-concerned and inclined to fixate improperly on matters of their own appearance; but do those habits themselves deserve rebuke? “Freud discerns in the phenomenon of narcissism an instinct for self-preservation, “a measure of which”, he argues, “may justifiably be attributed to every living creature”

“… Narcissism can be an alert kind of self-consciousness: it can be wry and ironic … the ability to imagine ourselves outside of ourselves is an important philosophical strategy.  …To reflect on the ways in which we are seen is also to pose questions about authenticity.  …

“…Narcissism is a burden: a duty to watch ourselves, vigilantly self-regulating, assessing and measuring our appearance in the world … And these kinds of self-reflections are not always wasteful.

“…isn’t there also something to be won in the endeavour to attend to ourselves more thoughtfully, making ourselves the subject of our probing enquiry?”

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