Shame: The Underside of Narcissism

by Andrew P. Morrison

Morrison provides a critical history of analytic and psychiatric attempts to make sense of shame, beginning with Freud and culminating in Kohut's understanding of shame in terms of narcissistic phenomena. The clinical section of the book clarifies both the theoretical status and treatment implications of shame in relation to narcissistic personality disorder, neurosis and higher-level character pathology, and manic-depressive illness.

Genres: Psychology, Mental Health, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1989

Reviews

[Brane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has many insights into different perspectives on shame, but most interesting to me was the evidence of shame existing as a reaction to or consequence of extreme entitlement or lack of personal struggle or resistance in life. Struggle and resistance in life is often idealized, especially by those who do not experience it in their own lives, as a means to prove strength, resilience, and/or self-actualization. There is a core of truth to this ideal, however the perspective of the individual in question is oftentimes warped by their unfamiliarity with the realities of life experience. The shame distilled from this immature perspective often pushes individuals into what from the outside appears to be self-destructive or self-deprecative behavior, which they are using in an attempt to manufacture this ideal set of circumstances for themselves which is repeatedly denied by, first their parents, and sometimes later by their associates or even society as a whole.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was published in 1989 and it shows the date of this publication. It is Freudian in inflection, so shame is framed through narcissism. That is fine - but the alternative interpretations that have emerged in the subsequent decades are more convincing.

However there is attention to the passivity of shame, which was fascinating.

[fundalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eski bir kitap, güncel kaynaklar utanç duygusunu daha geniş bir perspektifte ele alıyor olabilir. Bu duygu hakkında güzel bir bilgi derlemesi. Ayrıca utancın işlevlerinden söz ettiği kısımları özellikle yardımcı buldum.