God complex

A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility.

Description

A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face of irrefutable evidence, intractable problems or difficult or impossible tasks. The person is also highly dogmatic in their views, meaning the person speaks of their personal opinions as though they are unquestionably correct.^[1] Someone with a god complex may exhibit no regard for the conventions and demands of society, and may request special consideration or privileges.^[1]

God complex is not a clinical term or diagnosable disorder and does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

The first person to use the term god-complex was Ernest Jones (1913-51).^[2] His description, at least in the contents page of Essays in Applied Psycho-Analysis, describes the god complex as belief that one is a god.^[3]

See also

• Personal fable
• Abnormal psychology
• Borderline personality disorder
• Superiority complex
• Cult of personality
• Fanaticism
• Grandiose delusions
• Hubris
• Megalomania
• Messiah complex
• Narcissistic personality disorder
• Omnipotence
• Playing God (ethics)
• Solipsism

References

1. Kaplan, Harold I.; Benjamin J. Sadock (1972). Modern Group Book, volume 4: Sensitivity through encounter and marathon. J. Aronson.
2. Deep Blue at the University of Michigan umich.edu Retrieved 2012-01-22
3. Jones, Ernest (15 March 2007). "Essays in Applied Psycho-Analysis". Lightning Source Inc. p. 472. ISBN 1-4067-0338-9. Retrieved 2012-01-22.

External links

• McLemee.com - The Shrink with a God Complex Ronald Hayman Newsday, (April 22, 2001)
• News-Service.Stanford.edu - Did Caligula have a God complex? Stanford, Oxford archaeologists find evidence that depraved tyrant annexed sacred temple, John Sanford (September 10, 2003)