aggression

is at the service of self-formation. It is neither destructive nor pathological, and remains throughout life available to oppose obstacles that interfere with ego goals and ideals.

In summary, Kohut's theory of aggression is developmental in the sense that assertive aggression is deemed to be at the service of self-formation. This aggression is neither destructive nor pathological, and remains throughout life available to oppose obstacles that interfere with ego goals and ideals. Pathological narcissistic aggression that finds its severest representative in narcissistic rage is reactive a disintegration product to empathic failures during the development of the self and reappears whenever a renewed narcissistic injury or empathic failure reactivates the threat to the pathological survival of the grandiose self and its demands for absolute control and perfect responsiveness. Kohut does not specify whether assertive aggression is a drive in the classical sense, but frequently refers to it using the word 'drive.'

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