Prozac as a way of life
By: edited by Carl Elliott and Tod Chambers
Contributors: Elliott, Carl, 1961-; Chambers, Tod
Series: Studies in social medicine
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Chapel Hill
Language: eng
Number of pages: 211
Subjects: Fluoxetine -- Social aspects; Personality change
Description: "The eleven essays in Prozac as a Way of Life provide the groundwork for a much-needed philosophical discussion of the ethical and cultural dimensions of the popularity of SSRI antidepressants. Focusing on the increasing use of medication as a means of self-enhancement, contributors from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, bioethics, and the medical humanities address issues of identity enhancement, the elasticity of psychiatric diagnosis, and the aggressive marketing campaigns of pharmaceutical companies. They do not question the fact that these antidepressants can, in some cases, provide great benefit to alleviate real suffering. What they do question is the abundant popularity of these drugs and that popularity's relationship to American culture and ideas of selfhood."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index
Table of contents: title: Kramer's anxiety / Erik Parens; title: Prozac, enhancement, and self-creation / David Degrazia; title: The valorization of sadness: alienation and the melancholic temperament / Peter D. Kramer; title: Passion, activity, and the care of the self: Foucault and Heidegger in the precincts of Prozac / James C. Edwards; title: Good science or good business? / David Healy; title: Kafka's boys: a story of sex and serotonin / Lauren Slater; title: Care of the dying in America / Laurie Zoloth; title: Pursued by happiness and beaten senseless: Prozac and the American dream / Carl Elliott; title: The paradox of Prozac as an enhancement technology / Susan Squier; title: The sound of one hand clapping: listening to Prozac in Japan / Laurence J. Kirmayer; title: Prozac for the sick soul / Tod Chambers