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''The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations'' is a book by the cultural historian Christopher Lasch (1932–1994), first published by W. W. Norton in January 1979.〔(''The Culture of Narcissism'' at Barnes & Noble ) provides the specific dates January 28 (first) and September 21 (mass market paperback). Retrieved 2012-03-09.〕 It explores the roots and ramifications of the normalizing of pathological narcissism in 20th century American culture using psychological, cultural, artistic and historical synthesis. For the mass market edition published in September of the same year,〔 Lasch won the 1980 U.S. National Book Award in the category Current Interest (paperback).〔 ("National Book Awards – 1980" ). National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-09. There was a "Contemporary" or "Current" award category from 1972 to 1980.〕〔 From 1980 to 1983 in National Book Award history there were dual awards for hardcover and paperback books in many categories. Most of the paperback award-winners were reprints, including this one, but its first edition was eligible only in the same award year.〕 ==Overview== The book proposes that since World War II, post-war America has produced a personality-type consistent with clinical definitions of "pathological narcissism." This pathology is not akin to everyday narcissism — a hedonistic egoism — but rather a very weak sense of self requiring constant external validation. For Lasch, "pathology represents a heightened version of normality."〔???〕 Lasch locates symptoms of this personality-disorder in the radical political movements of the 1960s (such as the Weather Underground), as well as in the spiritual cults and movements of the 1970s, from est to Rolfing. Behaviors such as streaking, theatrical illusion in contemporary drama, and a fascination with oral sex are evidence of long-term personality disintegration.〔Menand, 206〕 The book builds its thesis from Lasch's idiosyncratic political views and encyclopedic grasp of U.S. social and economic history, the then-current world of arts and letters, and clinical research and psychological theories on narcissistic personality disorders. As the utopian visions of the sixties faded into the "personal growth" lifestyles of the seventies, the chaos and excess of the former began to imprint itself on the public mind. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Culture of Narcissism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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