(sound of pin dropping....) Well.... yes. That is exactly right. And once again you've supplied exactly and succinctly what I was trying to put into words.
And I think, really, that this form of narcissism increasingly pervades much of public discourse -- be it political, religious, moral, or scientific. And perhaps especially so in that large area of public life where they all intersect.
Look at the headline of this thread, for example: Preadaptation: A Blow to Irreducible Complexity?
That's a headline that ensures, not a debate or discussion, but rather a contest -- one in which there must be winners and losers. The goal is not so much to move ourselves closer to the truth, but rather to "be right."
What's missing is humility, which is a prerequisite for love or civil public discourse. Humility does not preclude passion; what it does, though, is allow us to recognize when our passion is misguided. Narcissism, on the other hand, claims that our passion is never misguided, because it is our passion.
Exactly. We see this all the time nowadays, even here at Freerepublic.
In short, it's not about truth; it's about winning a debate. On purely rational grounds — or at least that is what is alleged. Since such a line of argument generally depends on humility being recognized as irrational, humility — a great Christian virtue — ceases to be a relevant consideration: It's just the legacy of a dead myth.... Get over it! And win, win, win!
Yet as you note, humility is a prerequisite for love and of civil public discourse. As you wrote, "Humility does not preclude passion; what it does, though, is allow us to recognize when our passion is misguided." Yes; definitely. Also it is what is required of us in acknowledgement of the respect and dignity we owe to other persons.
A narcissist's love is an extremely debased form of self-love. Or so it seems to me. Self-love is quite natural, one might even say instinctive. But the self-love of a Christian is more than that, for it serves as the standard by which he deals with his neighbors: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." However much you love yourself, love your neighbor that much, too.
I think you pretty much nailed it here, r9etb: "Narcissism, on the other hand, claims that our passion is never misguided, because it is our passion."
In short, we love ourselves, we love our own passion, so much so that there is no room for anything else in our interior world. And by the way, such a person would be the one most likely to say: Don't ever disagree with me, or you'll see just how passionate I can get!
So much for civil public discourse nowadays!
I'm only just "poking around the edges" of this problem. My sense of Ms. Rand is that she was a profoundly alienated person. She saw enemies everywhere.... Plus I have to tell you (FWIW) that Dagny Taggart is probably the most unappealing fictional character I have ever encountered. And if I am not mistaken, Dagny is the alter-ego of Ayn Rand.
Well now that I've got that off my chest — LOLOL!
Thank you ever so much, dear r9etb, for yet another riveting essay/post!