Prozac As a Way of Life

by Elliott, Carl; Chambers, Tod

• ISBN13: 9780807828809
• ISBN10: 0807828807
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

Prozac and its chemical cousins, Paxil, Celexa, and Zoloft, are some of the most profitable and most widely used drugs in America. Their use in the treatment of a multitude of disorders--from generalized anxiety disorder and premenstrual syndrome to eating disorders and sexual compulsions--has provoked a whirlwind of public debate. Talk shows ask, Why is Prozac so popular? What, exactly, do these drugs treat? But sustained critical discussion among bioethicists and medical humanists has been surprisingly absent. The eleven essays in Prozac as a Way of Lifeprovide 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.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(20)
Carl Elliott
SECTION 1 RESPONSES TO PROZAC FROM PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHIATRY
Kramer's Anxiety	21	(12)
Erik Parens
Prozac, Enhancement, and Self-Creation	33	(15)
David DeGrazia
The Valorization of Sadness: Alienation and the Melancholic Temperament	48	(11)
Peter D. Kramer
Passion, Activity, and the Care of the Self: Foucault and Heidegger in the Precincts of Prozac	59	(13)
James C. Edwards
Good Science or Good Business?	72	(11)
David Healy
SECTION 2 PROZAC AND AMERICAN CULTURE
Kafka's Boys: A Story of Sex and Serotonin	83	(18)
Lauren Slater
Care of the Dying in America	101	(26)
Laurie Zoloth
Pursued by Happiness and Beaten Senseless: Prozac and the American Dream	127	(16)
Carl Elliott
SECTION 3 PROZAC AND THE EAST
The Paradox of Prozac as an Enhancement Technology	143	(21)
Susan Squier
The Sound of One Hand Clapping: Listening to Prozac in Japan	164	(30)
Laurence J. Kirmayer
Prozac for the Sick Soul	194	(13)
Tod Chambers
Contributors	207	(2)
Index	209