Hazards

Abstract

Abstract Blame’s stings are obviously hazardous, both when it’s too much or too little, creating monsters (e.g., Robert Harris) or entitled jerks. This chapter argues that praise risks symmetrical hazards. When overdone and when it’s underdone (or inconsistently done), it can create narcissists, who are both relatively unhappy themselves and hazardous to the people around them. Once narcissists are introduced to the picture, however, there is a new worry that arises: While narcissists can accept (and crave) praise, they can’t accept angry blame; it simply doesn’t latch onto them the way it does non-narcissists. If so, this suggests that there may be a deep asymmetry in the entire enterprise, that the capacities necessary for being a proper target of blame are just (asymmetrically) different from the capacities necessary for being a proper target of praise.