Following up from the previous book, Human Emotions and the Origins of Bioethics, this volume focuses on four psychological problems, anxiety, narcissism, restlessness, and emotional numbness, and explores how these problems influence bioethical issues and what bioethics can do to fix them.
"Much of contemporary bioethical analysis takes place at one or a few levels: either close analysis of particular cases where the question is what one individual owes to another; or perhaps an analysis of ethical decision-making in small groups; or wider discussions in public health and environmental ethics, dealing with overarching causes and patterns. Rarely does one see an approach to bioethics that reaches all the way down into the psychodynamics of human emotions, puts them in relational and social context—borrowing from myths and cultural narratives along the way—while connecting the dots to broader concerns at the population and even planetary level. However, this well-written, engaging new book by Susi Ferrarello does just that. It should serve as a model for 'integrated,' multi-level bioethics going forward." — Brian Earp, associate director of the Yale-Hastings Program in Ethics and Health Policy at Yale University and The Hastings Center, USA
"In a unique way, this book combines philosophical and psychological knowledge with medical and environmental issues. It is an indispensable book for both graduate and undergraduate students, as well as for scholars who seek ways to approach bioethics in an integrative way. The lived-experience of the individual is here elucidated within the context of society and it becomes clear how this intertwinement makes an impact on our societal well-being." — Magnus Englander, associate professor, Malmö University, Sweden
Susi Ferrarello is assistant professor at California State University, East Bay and a philosophical counselor.