case studies.
"Tess takes Prozac because she’s always been depressed;
Julia takes it because she doesn’t know who she is; when Sam
takes the drug, it makes him feel “better than well.” Four and a
half million Americans have taken this antidepressant since it
was first introduced, and many have become more confident,
popular, mentally nimble, and emotionally resilient.
What does it mean when a capsule with breakfast makes a
shy person outgoing? When a pill alters what we think of as
personality, not illness? Can drug response tell us what is
character and what is biological happenstance? Does
transforming medication interfere with necessary self examination?
Is it a coincidence that when American society
wanted women at home, the drug of choice was Valium, and
now that we value assertiveness, it’s Prozac? Are we entering
an era of “cosmetic pharmacology” when we can take a drug to
enhance our personality?
Julia takes it because she doesn’t know who she is; when Sam
takes the drug, it makes him feel “better than well.” Four and a
half million Americans have taken this antidepressant since it
was first introduced, and many have become more confident,
popular, mentally nimble, and emotionally resilient.
What does it mean when a capsule with breakfast makes a
shy person outgoing? When a pill alters what we think of as
personality, not illness? Can drug response tell us what is
character and what is biological happenstance? Does
transforming medication interfere with necessary self examination?
Is it a coincidence that when American society
wanted women at home, the drug of choice was Valium, and
now that we value assertiveness, it’s Prozac? Are we entering
an era of “cosmetic pharmacology” when we can take a drug to
enhance our personality?