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The term '[[narcissism]]' first appears in Freud's work in 1910.
Following "[[On Narcissism: An Introduction",<ref>Freud 1914c</ref>
The concept of '[[narcissism]]' begins to play a central role in [[psychoanalytic theory]].
[[Freud]] defines [[narcissism]] are the investment of [[libido]] in the [[ego]]
'[[Narcissism]]' is used by [[Sigmund Freud]] to describe the investment of [[libido]] in the [[ego]].
The [[narcissistic ]] [[stage ]] of [[development ]] inscribes the [[ego]] as an [[object]] of the [[libidinal ]] [[economy]]. [[Lacan ]] makes [[narcissism ]] an even more central aspect of the [[human ]] [[psyche]], aligning it with what he terms the "imaginary [[order]]," one of the three major structures of the [[psyche ]] (along with the [[Real ]] and the [[symbolic ]] [[order]]).
[[Lacan]] expands upon [[Freud]]'s concept, linking it more explicitly with its namesake, the [[myth]] of [[Narcissus]].
[[Narcissism]] has both an [[eroticism|erotic]] and an [[aggressivity|aggressive]] character.
It is [[eroticism|erotic]] in that the [[subject]] is strongly attracted to the [[gestalt]] that is his [[image]].
[[Narcissism]] is the [[erotic ]] attraction to the [[specular image]].
Such attraction underlies the primary [[identification]] by which the [[ego]] is formed in the [[mirror stage]].
It is [[aggressivity|aggressive]] in that the '[[wholeness]]' of the [[specular image]], undermined by the uncoordinated dis[[unity]] of the [[subject]]’s [[real]] [[body]], seems to threaten the [[subject]] with disintegration. The [[narcissistic]] relation (with the [[specular image]]) constitutes the [[imaginary dimension]] of human relationships.<ref>{{S3}} p.92</ref> Ideally, the [[libido ]] directs its [[energies ]] to objects [[object]]s ("object-libido"), including eventually one's [[love]]-[[object]]. However, The [[libido ]] can also attach itself to the [[ego ]] ("ego-libido") to the [[exclusion ]] of [[external ]] [[object]]-[[cathexes]]. This situation leads, according to [[Freud]], to [[narcissistic ]] [[behavior ]] and to [[narcissistic ]] [[neuroses ]] such as megalomania.
==See Also==
