#163 Narcissism: The Organising Principle of Our Society – Professor Sam Vaknin

Bryn Edwards at The WA Real

Professor Sam Vaknin, the world's Real foremost leading expert, takes you on a very deep dive into narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder.

I went into this thinking that I was going to learn about a mental health issue, but what I soon began to realise was that this is much bigger than that - to use Sam's own words ‘narcissism is more than just a mental health issue or a personality disorder; it's an organising principle of our culture and our society’. It's a primal drive in all of us that pervades parenting, education, media, social media, politics, governments, all of it.

Sam talks in great detail about the dynamics and mechanics of narcissism. He then goes on to discussing the specific design of social media and the links between its usage and narcissism, which is very chilling indeed.

He then goes on to talk about how narcissism is shaping all of us and why is now becoming the one true religion – a decentralised, networked religion.

Sam finishes with two suggestions of how to navigate the waters ahead.

This isn't easy listening, but it's necessary listening if you truly want, and have it in you, to understand the ‘water you swim in’.