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Israel/Zionism See other Israel/Zionism Articles Title: a reader's comment on the article Empathy Without Sympathy I’ve recently been doing a great deal of research on Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), the most basic element of which is a total lack of empathy for others, and I’ve been struck by the degree to which NPD seems to describe many of the “positive” survival strategies of the Jewish community. The funny thing is that many individuals with NPD effectively fool everyone around them, often for decades. While the disorder is characterized by a total lack of true empathy, Narcissists become master manipulators who often fool the vast majority of the individuals with whom they come into contact. Somebody like Bill Clinton, for example, displays many NPD characteristics, and it is these same characteristics that are largely responsible for his professional success. I’d argue the same is true for many Jews, and the entire community, with its intense self-involvement, could certainly be said to be narcissistic. Narcissists are often very successful, particularly today. Along with lack of empathy, the diagnostic criteria for a Narcissist includes the creation of a “false self”, basically a false personality, or persona, constructed early in life and invested in totally. The “bifurcated” personality referred to by Mr. Hamilton seems quite similar to this concept. One could argue that the Jewish community has survived and thrived by learning to construct false selves en masse, which are then utilized to interact with outsiders. I’m not so certain that it’s accurate to say that Jews actually “empathize” with others. It might be more accurate to say that they find social interaction to be fun, like a game, with each individual spoken to like a puzzle waiting to be solved. So it’s really more “sympathy without empathy”, than the other way around. Sympathy can be social (i.e., nothing more than words) while empathy must include true feeling. All the texts say that true Narcissists, being consummate manipulators, learn early in life to simulate the appearance of empathy. I would guess that it is this simulation which the Israeli ambassador was displaying, as opposed to the real thing. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Horse (#0)
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