by Sujit Das
The psychologists have different opinion on when the superego develops. Freud proposed, with much opposition from the existing researchers, that in the normal course of development, young children’s minds accrue an internalized authoritative figure (Stout, 2005, p. 30). Eventually this internalized authoritative figure becomes a free standing force when the mind is still developing unilaterally judging and directing the person’s behavior and thought. Ultimately it emerges as superego; it is the commanding inner voice that says “NO” even when no one is around.
Therefore, superego might be called the moral part of the mind. It provides guidelines for making judgments. The tension it creates is called by us the sense of guilt and it expresses itself as a need for punishment (Freud, 1989, p. 70). But if the person does something which is acceptable to the superego, he experiences pride and self-satisfaction. It means the person had taken the ideas of punishment, reward, right and wrong into himself. Superego helps the false self to control the urges of true self. It consists of two systems.
The conscience – Conscience is the ability or the faculty that distinguishes whether one’s actions are right or wrong. It propels us outward in the direction of other people and punishes us through causing feelings of guilt. It also rewards us when we behave “appropriately” by making us feel proud. Conscience takes the people to streets to protest a war or makes a human right’s worker to risk his life. When conscience is combined with surpassing moral courage, we see the great personalities like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. In various ways, genuine conscience changes the world.
The ego-ideal – In Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality, the ego-ideal is the part of the superego that includes the rules and standards for good behavior. These behaviors include those that are approved of by parental and other authority figures. Obeying these rules leads to feelings of pride, value, and accomplishment. In sum; the ego-ideal is an imaginary picture of how we ought to be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and how to behave as a member of the society.
Stout (2005, p. 31) summed up Freudian theory of superego, “ The superego is not just a voice; it is an operator, a subtle and complex manipulator, a prover of points. It prosecutes, judges and carries out sentences, and it does all these quite outside of our conscious awareness. While the superego, in the best case [for a healthy person], it can help the individual to get along in the society, it can also become the most overbearing and perhaps the most destructive part of his personality ”. Superego yammers at us inside our minds everyday of our lives. Some people’s superegos are rather more insulting than others.
With the discovery of the superego and a clear understanding of how it influences us, Freud showed us that our usual respect for law and order is not simply imposed on us from the outside. We obey the rules, honor the virtues, help the poor, self-sacrifice cheerfully for the benefit of the others, primarily from an internal need to preserve and remain embraced by our families and the larger human society in which we live.
5.4: The Superego of a Malignant Narcissist
Now we will see how the superego functions in the sick mind of a Narcissist, more precisely, a malignant Narcissist. The malignant Narcissist lacks in a fully developed and healthy superego. It means; these two essential systems of superego, conscience and ego-ideal, do not work well because of their immaturity.
A person with an unhealthy conscience has no intervening sense of obligation to others because he does not feel any emotional attachment with anyone. He also does not know what are the rules and standards for good behavior because his ego-ideal is faulty. Such a person is not structured by regular moral standards because he does not have the ability to distinguish whether his actions are right or wrong. In sum; there is no inner moral judge to teach him moral values. Religious views of conscience usually see it as linked to a morality inherent in all humans, but for the malignant Narcissist, he can become an unattached, conscienceless manipulator, deceiver, and killer. He simply does not have the capacity of seeing himself from the point of view of another person.
Therefore the malignant Narcissist has a twisted superego that plays a very important part in his narcissistic tendency. Though superego claims its position on the basis of the principle of parental authority for the healthy people, it becomes the internal chaos monster of the narcissistic disorders; the patient suffers from various types of obsessions and compulsions. The superego of a Narcissist is very harsh, cruel, uncompromising and punishing and its command is very powerful. In fact, the Narcissist’s sense of self-worth is totally at the mercy of his superego. It haunts him every moment of his life to such a degree that he is always at unrest. The concepts of the superego and narcissism are linked at the roots and that superego pathology should be seen as a determining factor in the formation of a narcissistic disorder. The false self of a Narcissist cannot stand without authorization. Here lies the very importance of superego. The term “superego” itself indicates that it dominates the ego (the super inflated ego i.e., the false self); the tension between the two agencies take the form of moral anxiety, mistrust and paranoia.
Superego is as false as the false self of a Narcissist. But while the false self is directed to the outside world, the superego is directed to the Narcissist himself. It punishes the Narcissist for the deeds and misdeeds of his false ego (Vaknin, 1999, p. 328). This punishment creates within the Narcissist a strong feeling of paranoia and injustice. Malignant Narcissists, because of their disorganized superegos and consequent lack of the capacity for self-exploration, are often erratic which leads to self-destructive behaviors and a loss of reality testing (Goldner-Vukov & Moore, 2010, pp. 396-06). He feels punished without any wrongdoing. Just like the false self is the inflation of the true self, the superego is the inflation of the false self. The superego of the malignant Narcissist is very primitive; it has a general propensity for cruelty. Often it is the self-destructive unconscious wish of the Narcissist.
The superego of the Narcissist often takes the authoritative position of God or some kind of superior power which has full authority and control on him. He, by mistake, takes it as a representation of a spiritual call toward enlightenment. When he is deluded, he experiences a higher spiritual state of mind.
The relationship between the false self and superego is very strange. A sadistic, idealized superego and a grandiose, manipulative false self interact with each other mechanically, like master and a slave; there is absolutely no emotional attachment. It is always a terror based abusive relation. The slave is terrorized by the master; he has no free choice. Malignant Narcissists often act like robots, and no robot is capable of introspection. With such an ideal, sadistic, rigid, primitive, and punishing superego, he eventually becomes a zombie lacking in morals and in conscience and becomes antisocial. The superego commands the Narcissist with criticisms, negative evaluations, and angry or disappointed voices. It berates him for failing to conform to his unattainable ideals, fantastic goals, and grandiose or impractical plans.
The behavior of the malignant Narcissist is a product of these manipulative dualistic forces. His false self serves as a barrier and as a shock absorber between the true self and the sadistic, punishing, immature superego (Vaknin, 1999, p. 156). He is trapped; he cannot escape these two determining forces which underlie his actions. Every moment of his life is strictly supervised by the exceptionally strict court of superego.
However, the superego does not terrorize the malignant Narcissist all the times. There are moments, when it can be rewarding also. Freud observed that there is also a pleasure that is derived from the interplay between the false self and the superego. Freud calls this “Narcissistic reward”. Therefore, a rewarding superego is the other side of the superego coin. Most of the time when the Narcissist is overly punitive, he has very limited ability to be rewarding. Certainly part of helping a person deal with an overly punitive superego would be to help him balance it with a rewarding superego. The victory of the fals
e self over the true self can only occur if, by way of compensation for this renunciation, a narcissistic reward is accorded by his cruel superego (Sheridan, 1999, p. 199).
Without a strong and dictatorial superego, the Narcissist cannot move forward. He is so helpless that he cannot detach himself from the tyranny of his superego. Deep inside of his mind, he knows that he is a fraud. He does not trust his ability to manage his own affairs and to set practical aims and realize them. This is why he needs the superego as a guardian and regulator of his own affairs, more specifically the affairs of his false self. It is such a self-contradicting mission.
When the Narcissist is fooled into thinking that the voice of this internalized “judge” is coming from God or some supernatural power, he becomes addicted to religion. His inner voice confirms him of his divine mission and he thinks about himself of “being chosen” or of “having a destiny” or “clear authority”. He believes he has a “direct telephone line” to God. Sometimes this God “serves” him through divine intervention. This inner voice scares him, confuses him, misguides him and manipulates him to submission. Slowly the malignant Narcissist becomes paranoid and this false God which is produced by his sick mind starts running the show. As Freud (Riviere et al, 1960, p. 33) concluded, “It [superego] contains the germ from which all religions have evolved”.
As Britton (2003, p. 71) concluded, “ The language of theology is the natural, or supernatural, language of the superego, and I therefore make no apology for using it. We may have decided with Nietzsche [a 19th-century German philosopher and atheist] that God is dead, but certainly his internal representative – the superego – is not ”.
As Vaknin (1999, pp. 148, 166) described, “ A Narcissist often entertains the delusion that God (or an equivalent institutional authority) is an active participant in his life in which constant intervention by this God is a key feature. God is included in a larger picture, that of the Narcissist’s destiny and mission … the Narcissist firmly believes that he is unique and that he is thus endowed because he has a mission to fulfill a destiny, a meaning to attain ”.
According to Freud (1989, p. 72), a great change takes place in the mind when the authority is internalized through the establishment of a superego. This particular change makes the malignant Narcissist very destructive because the authoritative superego changes his perception of the situation radically. Owing to the omniscience of the superego, the difference between aggression intended and aggression carried out just loses its force. Freud concluded, “ The phenomena of conscience then reach a higher stage … at this point, the fear of being found out comes to an end; the distinction, moreover, between doing something bad and wishing to do it disappears entirely, since nothing can be hidden from the superego, nor even thoughts ”.
On rare occasions, the punishing superego is so harsh that the false self cannot take it any more. Untamed, it may become the “ego-destructive superego” (Britton, 2003, p. 73). This is the time the false self and the tyrannical superego compete with each other to establish superiority on each other, and the Narcissist contradicts himself the most. He wishes to reverse the (real) situation and thinks this way – “If I were the father and you were the child, I should treat you badly”. After much struggle, the false self can wrest the position of arbiter, just as a child can become an adult who takes over from the parent the function of self-assessment. Self-assessment and self-observation are ego functions, not superego functions (Britton, 2003, p. 72). On the one hand, the Narcissist accepts the authority of his superego by disregarding the fact that the superego is inhuman to him; on the other hand, he confronts this authoritative personality with clear proofs of its fallibility. With the above confrontation, any of the three things happens. Either the Narcissist becomes more desperate to secure more narcissistic supply sources, or suffer from lifelong depression even to the point of committing suicide, or serious doubts creep in which may free him at last, i.e., he recovers from his narcissism.
5.5: Allah: The Superego of a Malignant Narcissist
Now it is time to reveal the true identity of Allah. If this mysterious moon-god of Islam is put under the searchlight of psychological analysis, it is not difficult to understand that Allah was the superego of Muhammad. Qur’an confirms that Allah gave authority to Muhammad.
Do not rise up against Allah, I come to you with clear authorit y. (Q: 44.19).
Those who swear allegiance to you (Muhammad) indeed swear allegiance to Allah. (Q: 48.10).
According to Muslim belief, Muhammad was the final authority for Allah’s revelation here on earth. In other words, his false self kept its narcissistic “balloon” inflated with the strong authority of his superego, Allah. Without a strong and dictatorial Allah, Muhammad could not move forward in his divine mission. But what are Allah’s credentials? Such questions are forbidden in Allah’s religion and may lead to a grave danger.
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, Satan comes to one of you and says, ‘Who created so-and-so?’ till he says, ‘Who has created your Lord?’ So, when he inspires such a question, one should seek refuge with Allah and give up such thoughts . (Bukhari: 4.54.496)
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah said: Men will continue to question one another till this is propounded: Allah created all things but who created Allah? He who found himself confronted with such a situation should say: I affirm my faith in Allah. (Muslim: 1.242).
He (Allah) will say: ‘Dispute not with each other in My Presence: I had already in advance sent you Warning’ . (Q: 50.28).
He cannot be questioned for His acts, but they will be questioned (for theirs). (Q: 21.23)
By this way Allah debarred any possibility of criticism in Islam and the authority remained unchallenged. Allah wanted to be shrouded in a mystery because Muhammad himself did not have a clear idea of his Allah. So Muhammad told Muslims to affirm their faith in Allah and to give up such thoughts.
The relationship between Allah and Muhammad was not friendly. Their liaison was not like father and son; it was purely that of a master and slave. Like a child who is under compulsion to obey his cruel parents, the false self is obliged to submit itself to the unconditional command of his superego. Allah, the superego of Muhammad, never gave him the intimate love that a father gives to his son. Muhammad had spent many years among Christians and Jews and adopted many of their customs and stories in Qur’an, but he never wanted to adopt the “father and son” theological concept of the Jews and Christians. He simply could not imagine that God could be loveable. Hence the God-Prophet relationship was one of a slave to his master, with obedience, rather than love, being the primary impulse.
Narrated ‘Umar: I heard the Prophet saying, ‘Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle’ . (Bukhari: 4.55.654)
And when the slave of Allah stood up in prayer to Him (Allah).. . (Q: 72.19)
A common Muslim name is Abdallah, which literally means “servant of Allah” or “slave of Allah”. Allah makes it clear that humans are His slaves, and slaves have no freedom, except do what the master orders.
But in other religions, the view is different. In Hindu belief, the whole universe is one self same reality (teachings of Upanishad). There is no distinction or duality between God (paramatma) and the soul (jivaatma) except in our perception. God and the soul are one and the same. There is nothing like a soul separating itself from God and then entering the body as a separate entity. It means, every human being is a part of God. Therefore the core teaching of Hinduism (The Vedanta Philosophy) (Beckerlegge, 1998, p. 297) is: “Do not injure another. Love everyone as your own self because the whole universe is one. In injuring another, I am injuring myself; in loving another, I love myself”. In Talmudic Judaism; God is the creator, law-giver, and protector. Hence He is called “Father”. In Christianity, God is called “Father” not only for the same reasons, but because of the m
ystery of the father-son relationship revealed by Jesus Christ. This is the revelation of a sense in which fatherhood is inherent to God’s nature – an eternal relationship.
But Muhammad’s Islam does not match to any of these great theological concepts. He interacted with Allah mechanically. There was absolutely no sense of divine union. Muslims often claim that the Christians and Muslims pray to the same God, but this is a deceitful attempt to misguide and gain converts from Christianity. While Christianity is based on love, brotherhood and forgiveness; Islam is based on hatred, lust and revenge.
Allah is very cruel. Neither He trusts others nor is He trustworthy at all. The Qur’an describes Allah as the best deceiver and a liar who is not above using the same evil and wicked schemes of His opponents. Qur’an calls Allah “al-Makr” (the word for deception/deceiver/schemer is Makr); in fact, Allah is the best Makr in the world. Muhammad thought that he was under constant watch of Allah.
Indeed, your Lord is ever watchful. (Q: 89.14).
Who sees you when you stand up. And your turning over and over among those who prostrate themselves before Allah (in worship). (Q: 26.218-9).
Allah is so cruel that He likes to see people afraid of him. Muhammad equated love with fear.
Whosoever fears the Merciful in the Unseen, and comes with a contrite heart. (Q: 50.33).
Anas b. Malik is reported to have said that Allah’s Messenger recited this verse: ‘He is the fount of fear. He is the fount of Mercy (Q: 74:56)’. Then he said, “Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, has said, “I deserve that I am feared and no other god is appointed with Me. So he who fears that no other god is appointed with Me, then I am competent to forgive him . (Sunaan ibn Majah: 5.4299)
Narrated Abu Musa: The sun eclipsed and the Prophet got up, being afraid that it might be the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment). He went to the Mosque and offered the prayer with the longest Qiyam, bowing and prostration that I had ever seen him doing. Then he said, ‘These signs which Allah sends do not occur because of the life or death of somebody, but Allah makes His worshipers afraid by them. So when you see anything thereof, proceed to remember Allah, invoke Him and ask for His forgiveness’ . (Bukhari: 2.18.167)
