Can I read Pathological Altruism on EtoBox?

Pathological Altruism by Oakley, Barbara; Knafo, Ariel; Madhavan, Guruprasad; Wilson, David Sloan is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Pathological Altruism about?

The benefits of altruism and empathy are obvious. These qualities are so highly regarded and embedded in both secular and religious societies that it seems almost heretical to suggest they can cause harm. Like most good things, however, altruism can be distorted or taken to an unhealthy extreme. IPathological Altruism/I presents a number of new, thought-provoking theses that explore a range of hurtful effects of altruism and empathy. Pathologies of empathy, for example, may trigger depression as well as the burnout seen in healthcare professionals. The selflessness of patients with eating abnormalities forms an important aspect of those disorders. Hyperempathy - an excess of concern for what others think and how they feel - helps explain popular but poorly defined concepts such as codependency. In fact, pathological altruism, in the form of an unhealthy focus on others to the detriment of one's own needs, may underpin some personality disorders. Pathologies of altruism and empathy not only underlie health issues, but also a disparate slew of humankind's most troubled features, including genocide, suicide bombing, self-righteous political partisanship, and ineffective philanthropic

Author

Oakley, Barbara; Knafo, Ariel; Madhavan, Guruprasad; Wilson, David Sloan

Publisher

IRL Press at Oxford University Press

Published

2011

Language

EN

ISBN

9780199876341