Overview

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 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.

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Reviews

There is much to chew on in this provocative collection.--New England Journal of Medicine The editors bring together a world-class group of doctors, philosophers, and ethicists to explore the implications of medically enhanced life.--Psychology Today An important contribution to a debate on how one becomes who one is.--Choice There is much to chew on in this provocative collection. -- New England Journal of Medicine An important contribution to a debate on how one becomes who one is. -- Choice The editors bring together a world-class group of doctors, philosophers, and ethicists to explore the implications of medically enhanced life. -- Psychology Today This book is one of the finest examples of today's interdisciplinary bioethics scholarship. (Paul Brodwin, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, editor of Biotechnology and Culture: Bodies, Anxieties, Ethics ) Anyone interested in the question of whether spiritual suffering ought to be treated medically will find this fascinating reading.(Hilde Lindemann Nelson, Michigan State University, author of Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair )

An important contribution to a debate on how one becomes who one is. <br> -- Choice

Author Information

Carl Elliott is associate professor of philosophy and pediatrics at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota. His most recent book is Better Than Well: American Medicine Meets the American Dream. Tod Chambers is associate professor of bioethics and medical humanities at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and author of The Fiction of Bioethics: Cases as Literary Texts.

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