Falling in love is not an extension of one's limits or boundaries; it is a partial and temporary collapse of them.
M. Scott PeckRead
Since [narcissists] deep down, feel themselves to be faultless, it is inevitable that when they are in conflict with the world they will invariably perceive the conflict as the world's fault. Since they must deny their own badness, they must perceive others as bad. They project their own evil onto the world. They never think of themselves as evil, on the other hand, they consequently see much evil in others.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Narcissists view themselves as perfect and blame others for any conflicts, projecting their flaws onto the world.
This quote by M. Scott Peck explains the mindset of narcissists, who, due to their inability to accept their own faults, perceive any conflict as being caused by external forces. Their need to maintain a self-image of righteousness leads them to view others negatively, projecting their own shortcomings onto them rather than self-reflecting or taking responsibility for their actions.
Themes
NarcissismProjectionConflictBlameSelf-Image
In practice
Example use cases
In a psychological seminar discussing the traits of narcissistic personality disorder.
More from M. Scott Peck
All quotes →Listening well is an exercise of attention and by necessity hard work. It is because they do not realize this or because they are not willing to do the work that most people do not listen well.
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If your goal is to avoid pain and escape suffering, I would not advise you to seek higher levels of consciousness or spiritual evolution.
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All my life I used to wonder what I would become when I grew up. Then, about seven years ago, I realized that I was never going to grow up--that growing is an ever ongoing process.
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When we love someone our love becomes demonstrable or real only through our exertion - through the fact that for that someone (or for ourself) we take an extra step or walk an extra mile. Love is not effortless. To the contrary, love is effortful.
M. Scott PeckRead
An unconscious, gentle process whereby people who want to be loving attempt to be so by telling little white lies, by withholding some of the truth about themselves and their feelings in order to avoid conflict. Pseudocommunity is conflict-avoiding; true community is conflict-resolving.
M. Scott PeckRead
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