The origins of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder a

THE ORIGINS OF NARCISSISM 85
finally comes to recognize oneself as merely an object among objects,
a self among selves (Bach, 1985). Many criticisms can be made of this
hypothesis, only a small number of which I will take up here.
Limitations of the Theory of Reflexive Self-Awareness
First, this theory, as stated, appears to be monocausal. It traces virtually
all narcissistic phenomena to the coordination of two representational
states. In this sense, the theory as stated is too broad, and the discovery
of its limitations is inevitable. A specific problem with this theory is
that it provides an adequate explanation of narcissistic disturbances in
which there is representational instability but has little to say about
neurotic-level narcissism, in which a person has inflated self-esteem
and excessive self-focus but also has stable attachments and reasonably
stable, cohesive representations of self and others (eg, Blatt & Shichman,
1983; Freud, 1931/1961; W. Reich, 1949; cf. Westen, 1990a).
Neurotic-level narcissism may simply be a defense against self-critical
depression (Blatt & Shichman, 1983), but the currently articulated theory
does not speak to that issue. For reasons of space, the differentiation
of higher level from lower level forms of narcissistic disturbance will
not be discussed here.
A broader problem is that the theory currently under discussion
seems to explain all the complexities of the human personality in terms
of narcissism. It must be stated explicitly, therefore, that the concepts
of narcissism and self-reflexivity have implications for all of personality
functioning but that they are by no means the only relevant, or even
the most important, factors. Variations in affect and drive regulation,
in self-esteem, in self-focus, in identity formation, in object relations,
in work, and in love are each only partially related to transformations
of reflexive self-awareness or its representational antithesis, egocentrism,
and each of these factors can itself be considered as an independent
dimension in explaining human behavior, depending upon
the specific aspects of personality functioning upon which one is focusing.
The current focus on reflexive self-awareness is especially useful for
illuminating problems of narcissism. The present theory explains the
paradoxical narcissism involved in certain deep depressions and intense
object relations while avoiding the quagmire of defining narcissism
in purely quantitative terms, as either the libidinal cathexis of the