The Narcissistic Nihilist
Our world is rife with crises that not only impact the individual, but are resoundingly within the individual’s grasp (for the vast majority) and means of control. Crises that range from physical health (Chronic Metabolic Syndromes like Type II Diabetes or obesity), to mental health (like depression and rumination), as well as financial health (such as the average individual lacking an emergency fund). But there is a philosophical crisis going on as well that the vast majority are unaware of. Making this crisis the most dangerous, as its impacts are going unnoticed in the shadows. Any influence that goes unnoticed makes for it to be a major driving factor. Like a virus that nobody knows is there but is pushing other health complications throughout the body that endanger the host.
Perhaps the most prevailing attribute that I have seen and heard from individuals of every culture, political affiliation, and walk of life here in America is having a bleak outlook on the future. People do not see their world getting better, not just in the near future, but they don’t see a way for things to improve at all. The prevalence for this outlook has remained persistent over the past handful of decades, and the population that is holding this worldview has swelled in numbers as each following generation of youth gets influenced more and more by the society around them. The adults are talking about seeing ‘no way out,’ the news is talking about it, the music is talking about it, and Hollywood continues to push out more and more gripping tales about how our current iteration of reality is utterly f***ed.
What is the path of least resistance for a malleable mind that grows up in this environment? It certainly isn’t to decide to do something to change that trajectory. If anything that is the path of most resistance. It certainly isn’t to just shut down and do absolutely nothing at all, that invites resistance in the way of making life wholly unbearable and malign (with an understandable twist into suicidal depression for many). What have the vast majority resorted to? Becoming a Narcissistic Nihilist.
Narcissism for the Sake of Nihilism
A Narcissistic Nihilist is a potent combination that does not receive enough identification or exploration. The two are exceedingly viewed as separate, but are not discussed as occurring simultaneously within an individual (except for this blogpost here which discusses Rick from Rick & Morty as a Narcissistic Nihilist). But it is not quite the same as what I am describing here, as the nihilism is the dominant trait. With the narcissism being developed in defense, or support, of the nihilism.
The Narcissistic Nihilist only comes about developing narcissism as a response to their nihilistic worldview; “If the world is doomed, and there truly is no way out or path to improve things, then I am going to make sure that I have the best flipping time I can, without regard to myself or any other, rest of the world be damned.”
Denial of Reality
Through this vein these individuals seek to soothe their existential strife by convincing themselves that they are perfect as they are now. That there is no need for themselves to change their ways. And that it is the world that is wrong, not them. That they are victims of the world. That the world is ‘out to get them.’ Oftentimes turning to the habitual reliance on drugs and alcohol to escape a reality that they do not wish to accept, and to numb themselves from feeling anything at all. They flee from their senses as their senses tell them that something in their life is wrong. As our senses are merely information from our bodies that tell us that change is occurring, or necessary.
These individuals run from anything that may challenge this worldview, regardless if it be based in truth and a representation of reality. Going so far as to outright deny challenges, even if presented with data supporting the oppositional view. They must deny reality at all costs in order to support their worldview, for to accept the opposition would mean accepting that they were wrong, and their view of their individual perfection comes imploding in on their conceptualization of Self. An outcome that is unbearable to accept, for it means accepting one very important fact. They could have done things differently, done better, and could have been better than the current version of themselves. But chose not to.
Social Restructuring
The twisting and manipulating of information representing their environment does not stop there however. The Narcissistic Nihilist will cultivate echo chambers around themselves in the form of their peers. They will seek out individuals that hold precisely the same (or tolerably similar) worldviews as their own, producing an immediate social environment that is a mirror representation of themselves. Providing feedback that not only affirms their ‘correctness’ but is also most likely to not provide contradictory arguments or information. If there is opposition provided, that individual is either pressured or manipulated by the group to change their view to match that of the group, or is pushed out entirely.
*This obviously gets levered-up with the inclusion of social media into the equation, as the algorithms are designed to give people more of what they Like. Seeing how people Like what they agree with… bingo-bango echo chambers abound.
These individuals will resort to any means necessary to maintain that they do not need to change their ways. (Want an example of this? we just need to look at the physical and mental health crises — physical activity has been a proven solution to the vast majority of the conditions plaguing the US population, yet the majority avoids the solution like The Plague.) They will ultimately result to playing the victim, that there is nothing that they could do, that they are the way that they are without capability of being something (or someone) else.
Which is of course ridiculous, and gives credibility to my observations that they will deny reality itself. Denying the reality by holding that they do not need to workout, they are healthy even though they are obese and we know, as an irrefutable fact, that obesity increases all-cause mortality. Denying the reality that being physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and philosophically weak is undesirable in any individual that we are participating in life with. And these individuals will go so far as to suggest that those who contain the qualities that they lack are some form of bigot, fascist, or all around evil individual.
They demonize those that provide evidence that their worldview and lifestyle is wrong, nay, unhealthy.
Real, Lasting Consequences
Narcissistic Nihilists are everywhere today. These types provide dangerous and unhealthy presences in Political and Relationship cultures. Denying reality causes decisions to be made with regard to city, state, and national levels that run the increasing risk of being detrimental to the viability of these organizational structures. Furthermore, these individuals (and groups of individuals) deny realities with relation to finding a mate and cultivating a healthy sexual relationship with an individual of the opposite sex. This can drive very negative outcomes for marriages, and even worse outcomes for child-rearing and the development of our next generations.
If we are to change the path that America is set on, we must first change ourselves.