How NeuroScience is Proving that Freud was Right

Three core ideas lie at the centre of psychoanalytic thought.

The first is that, as infants, we develop best in an environment of love and fun. Second that our internal worlds are formed in early childhood and have an enduring influence on our relationships throughout our lives. And third, that much of the suffering in this world can be traced to neglect and abuse in childhood.

Psychoanalysts since Freud have passionately believed that these ideas have the power to change our lives and reshape our world.

Now neuroscience and biochemistry are showing that, on these key ideas at least, Freud was right.    Continue reading

Freud and the Evening News – The Madness Within

A cursory glance at the evening news reveals a picture of humanity violently at odds with itself – the violence of ISIS, the unending war in Syria, and the erosion of democracy in the U.S. typified by the hated filled campaign of Donald Trump. But the everyday reporting of the major news channels hides a deeper division still – the division of humanity based on disorders of personality.    Continue reading

Dispelling the Myths of Narcissism

This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of Freud’s essay ‘On Narcissism’ – one hundred years in which the concept of narcissism has been a central focus for successive generations of psychoanalysts. Yet in the public mind, misperceptions persist.    Continue reading

Q&A on Dangerous Personality Disorders Part 2

In the second part of my recent interview on Doug Bennett’s radio show ‘Unspun: An Experiment in Truth Telling’ we discuss the danger of nuclear war, how religion can be exploited by psychopaths, how thugs often take over when crises hit, and what societies can do to protect us from people with dangerous personality disorders. This blog contains extracts from part 2 of the interview, which can be heard in full here.     Continue reading

Q&A on Dangerous Personality Disorders Part 1

DisorderedWorld is a site dedicated to exploring the damage that psychopaths and narcissists cause in our world. For those new to the site, here is a list of the Top 10 most popular posts. The list covers Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao, Islamic State, narcissistic bosses, Noam Chomsky, religion and evil, and more…

I recently had the honour of appearing as a guest on Doug Bennett’s radio show ‘Unspun: An Experiment in Truth Telling’ on KKRN in Northern California. During our conversation, Doug Bennett and I explored dangerous personality disorders, what they are and how they are caused, and the damage that people with these disorders cause in the world. This blog has extracts from part 1 of the interview. The interview can be heard in full here.      Continue reading

A Scientific Definition of Morality

We live in an age of moral confusion. Is homosexuality immoral? Can female genital mutilation be justified? Is forced child marriage ever acceptable? Our present confusion is partly a result of the globalised age in which we live. Never before have we been so exposed to the enormous diversity of cultural norms and moral values that exist in different parts of the world as we are today. And never before has it been so obvious that people in different cultures see morality in very different ways.    Continue reading

Understanding Personality Disorders

The following extracts from the World Psychiatric Association and International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders resource ‘Educational Program on Personality Disorders’ is intended to answer some important questions on the complex issue of personality disorders.

What are Personality Disorders?

The Oxford Dictionary defines personality as the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character. For psychologists, personality is the individual’s distinctive pattern of perceiving, feeling, thinking, coping, and behaving. The adult personality is essentially formed by late adolescence.  Continue reading