What an interesting body of work... I also thought it could be his thesis, the social experiment of it all as an underpinning, and a compelling one if you approach it from a scholarly perspective. However, he is not a philosophy or psychology major and took only one class (see below) so this wouldn't really fit and is three times too long. I don't see the parallels between Kegan's book and Eliott Rodgers' "manifesto", mainly because one is a literary self-portrait written to the tune of existentialism and the other is a journal of a sociopathic killer. But as his opening pages say:
I invite you all to criticize my book as much as you can. Not allcriticisms are good or valid, but please criticize away at any rate.
p.6
https://reasonabledeath.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/book-a-most-reasonable-death1.pdf
and then
I humbly ask that you, the reader, read this chapter with the intention tounderstand me and not with the expectation that I am trying to convince you that I amright.
p.236
https://reasonabledeath.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/book-a-most-reasonable-death1.pdf
Framed as a book of personal philosophies, he is shaping an arena for critical thought, or trying to in my opinion - up until Chapter 10. As such, it is going to sound self-important or condescending, but I truly doubt that is his intention. Instead, I see it as an exercise of his intellect which has not yet finished maturing and wouldn't for many more years to come - it does have the marks of a young person lost in the alluring realms of complicated words and ideas. I sure wrote several pieces in college that sang similar tunes, and which I could read now and cringe at my self-indulgence.
If 100% true and he has gone off to die, I do not see him as an evil, cruel or narcissistic person, I see him as a dreadfully honest and intelligent nihilist with a history of mental disease and a hard upbringing - I mean, he lays it all out for us in the book so doesn't really need a second opinion. Psychology and Philosophy are both inherently self-centered areas of study (whether formally or not he has clearly studied them), and even more introverted modes of thinking, and on the surface that may come off as narcissistic but Keegan demonstrates the ability to empathize and feel. I can't judge the things he says in his letters, or his choice to make them public for two reasons:
1. Just 15 years is enough of a gap that I really cannot relate to how he sees the world. I have a brother his age that has taught me just how different life is for his generation no matter how much we have in common.
2. The "terrible" things he says are his truths. There is no reason anyone should edit themselves when addressing loved ones, especially for the last time.
After all, the premise is that he killed himself, and in doing so, eliminated his bitter, resentful self from their lives. Take this passage, which is a key statement IMO:
Despite all thetimes I made you cry year after year, one of the worst feelings ever is knowing I am the cause of yoursadness. To make someone as wonderful and happy as you break down into tears is truly the mark of ahorrible person.
-Letters, Page 4:
https://reasonabledeath.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/letters1.pdf
Self loathing is a classic motivator for suicide. Sad people also cry a lot. Some of you may handle your depression by becoming numb, that is also common, but crying is simply how humans in general express a range of sad emotions. I ask that we all be mindful of projecting our own experiences and feelings on Kegan, and to not take his letters personally - we don't know his family or how they understand or take his words, and those understandings are most certainly very different from our own.
You might be wondering how I could do this to you, or what you did to deserve this from me after all youdid for me. These are the wrong kinds of thoughts. You’re thinking about it from a skewed and incorrectperspective. My choice wasn’t about you. I know you like to take responsibility for everything I do, but Iam my own person. -Letters, Page 8:
https://reasonabledeath.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/letters1.pdf
Suicide is also sometimes a form of control. Not so much over others, but finally over oneself. Keegan makes several statements throughout his letters that infer he experienced a lot of controlling and invalidating behaviors from others in his life.
I am now working on a summary of chapter 10 and will post it asap. It should help clarify the important bits and bring anyone up to speed that can't get through the whole thing word for word.