Rhetoric and narcissism: A critique of ideological Selfism

In a hermeneutically based philosophic reflection, an attempt is made to define narcissism as pathological communication. The concept of narcissism is distinguished from egoism or individualistic social tendencies with which it is often confused. Narrow perspectives on narcissistic experience, taken up by psychoanalysis, are shown to perpetuate a prevailing ideology of narcissistic culture. The rhetorical roots of an either/or mentality promulgated in the literature are found to promote self‐assertion. A redefinition of narcissism as pathological communication is argued to be more heuristic than previous conceptions of the term. Questions are raised suggesting directions for further research in the speech communication discipline.