Psychiatrist

Ernst Simmel Ernst Simmel (; ; 4 April 1882 – 11 November 1947) was a German-American neurologist and psychoanalyst. Life Born in Breslau (Wrocław), Silesia to a secular Jewish background, Simmel moved to Berlin as a child.Veronika Fuechtner, 'Berlin Sou ...

first defined primordial narcissism in 1944. Simmel's fundamental thesis is that the most primitive stage of libidinal development is not the oral, but the gastro-intestinal one. Mouth and anus are merely to be considered as the terminal parts of this organic zone. Simmel terms the psychological condition of prenatal existence "primordial narcissism". It is the vegetative stage of the pre-ego, identical with the id. At this stage there is complete instinctual repose, manifested in unconsciousness. Satiation of the gastro-intestinal zone, the representative of the instinct of self-preservation, can bring back this complete instinctual repose, which, under pathological conditions, can become the aim of the instinct. Contrary to

Lasch Lasch is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Christopher Lasch (1932–1994), American historian, moralist, and social critic *Gershon Lasch (1803–1883), German educator and writer *Otto Lasch (1893–1971), German general *Ryan ...

Bernard Stiegler Bernard Stiegler (; 1 April 1952 – 5 August 2020) was a French philosopher. He was head of the Institut de recherche et d'innovation (IRI), which he founded in 2006 at the Centre Georges-Pompidou. He was also founder of the political and c ...

argues in his book, ''

Acting Out In the psychology of defense mechanisms and self-control, acting out is the performance of an action considered bad or anti-social. They indirectly express emotions through behavior rather than words. These actions are often used to cope with un ...

'', that

consumer capitalism Consumer capitalism is a theoretical economic and social political condition in which consumer demand is manipulated in a deliberate and coordinated way on a very large scale through mass-marketing techniques, to the advantage of sellers. Thi ...

is in fact destructive of what he calls primordial narcissism, without which it is not possible to extend love to others.

, ''

'' (Stanford:

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...

, 2009). In other words he is referring to the natural state of an infant as a

fetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...

and in the first few days of its life, before it has learned that other people exist besides itself, and therefore cannot possibly be aware that they are human beings with feelings.

References

{{Reflist Narcissism Psychoanalysis