“NARCISSISTIC” PERSON AS A SYMBOL OF MODERN SOCIETY

Abstract

Analyzing the interaction of man and society, the authors draw attention to the fact that today a person is in the state of two mutually exclusive modi of their existence. One is defined as a modus of extreme individualism, whose expanding overely leads to narcissism and egocentrism, the other one – as profound depersonalization, leading to the loss of their way of integrity, apathy, mental anemia and helplessness. Extreme individualism is demonstrated by the new type of modern man, whose sign is Narcissus. Narcissistic personality type is a symbol of transition from limited to full individualism. The paper emphasizes that the narcissistic man has lost the meaning and significance of social origin; if not lost totally, it is displaced towards the hedonistic interpretation. Traditional individualism is replaced by hedonistic, psychological individualism, which consideres personal achievement as a main value.