Artificial Happiness: The Dark Side of the New Happy Class

by Ronald W. Dworkin

Reveals the dark side of the staggering rise in antidepressant prescription, alternative medicine, etc.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Sociology

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Ronald W. Dworkin is political philosopher and an anesthesiologist.

Reviews

[May Ling]

Interesting book. Really puts into perspective the history of happiness and the expectations associated with it. Intriguing.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARE WE TAKING DRUGS TO FALSELY CREATE AN ARTICIAL STATE?

Anaesthesiologist and philosopher Ronald Dworkin is also the author of books such as 'Sovereign Virtue: The Theory and Practice of Equality,' 'Law's Empire,' 'Is Democracy Possible Here?: Principles for a New Political Debate,' etc.

He explains in the first chapter that this book "explains how Artificial Happiness harms its beneficiaries, and suggests the implications for society when millions of people fight unhappiness with external cures." (Pg. 2) He suggests there is now a "new class of Artificially Happy Americans... (who) lead full and busy lives, except that what they get from life doesn't penetrate them very deeply." (Pg. 4-5)

He attributes "the increased use of antidepressants, stimulants, and narcotics; the rise of alternative medicine; the rise of the fitness movement; the rise of medical-based spiritualism; and the rise of managed care" to this new phenomenon. (Pg. 19) He asserts that "Fitness culture is not about exercise; it is about overexercise. It is not about health; it is about pride." (Pg. 123) He predicts that "These Happy Children... become Happy Adults and then Happy Seniors, using the same method throughout their lives to deal with unhappiness. What emerges is an entire life cycle based on Artificial Happiness." (Pg. 262)

He concludes, "The underlying theme in Artificial Happiness is the irrelevance of life to happiness, since people can find Artificial Happiness independent of life... But answering this question ("how to live") is... incredibly easy. People can find answers to this question by just going to a local bookstore, and for fifty dollars buying books on all the world's great faiths and philosophies, reading them in a month, and discovering all the answers about how to live that humanity has ever known... Artificial Happiness... is so... unncessary." (Pg. 292-293)

While satisfied users of Prozac and Xanax may disagree with Dworkin, this is still a thought-provoking and intriguing book.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is chock full of medical jargon that the typical reader will probably struggle to comprehend. I couldn’t finish it because I got so lost. It seemed redundant and talked mostly about medical policies and I just couldn’t keep up.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Helpful for pointing out problems, not for opening the way to answers

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book appeals to my beliefs. Dworkin, a scholar at the right leaning Hudson Institute and anesthesiologist, writes about dealing with unhappiness. His point is that unhappiness can be a valuable emotion that makes us alter our present state to obtain happiness. Get a divorce, change your job, go back to school, etc. Instead of dealing with the root causes of unhappiness, we choose to deal with the symptoms. First, Dworkin looks at the pharmacueticals. When depression became more of a dose/response problem, it was allowed to be diagnosed and dealt with by primary care physicians. This has directly lead to the rise in use of depression related drugs. Those who are suffering from depression who are receiving medication are about the same over time for pyschiatrists. But, for primary care physicians, they have increased dramatically. When a primary care doctor spends, on average, 15 minutes with a patient - that is a problem for this diagnosis. The result is that 15% of Americans are inferred to be "clinically depressed" (taking drugs for depression) which probably is too high. Second, Dworkin looks at the alternative happiness industry, specifically over-exercise and far-eastern type remedies. Lastly, there is some sort of argument about how religion and doctor's were in some sort of war, and doctors won.

I found the first two parts of this book to be very interesting, well reasoned, and thought provoking. The last part was a stretch. I think if Dworkin had focused on the failings of religion to remain relevent and approachable to the masses in today's age - he may have been on to something. In the science age, doctors are the new religion. The possess a higher knowledge and can provide cures. Thus, people go to a person who they believe is more relevent to their needs. When churches spend more time on gay rights, female priests, and the like - they lose relevance. But, I don't think that religion and depression really had a place in this book. This last part really pulled down the book.

Dworkin's cure is that we re-educate the primary care physicians. Probably a good idea. But, ultimately, we should look at "why am I unhappy, and is there something I could do to make myself happy?"

[Stephanie Phillips · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this book on page 146. It drags on and on--I found myself having to reread entire pages because I had stopped paying attention to what I was reading. His initial hypothesis seemed interesting--do psychotropic meds give people the illusion of happiness by removing the motivation to change circumstances that might be contributing to depression [his example] in the first place?--but then he kind of wanders away from that. He shows a clear derision for alternative medicine and the idea that exercise could actually improve one's mental health. I found it pretty strange that he seemed to be positing that any reported change in mood after beginning an exercise regimen would be the same kind of "Artificial Happiness" (Always Capitalized whenever it appears in the book) as someone on an antidepressant experiences. The argument seems to be that you're not "really" happy; you just THINK you're happy. This differs, in my estimation, from what he says regarding the client on Prozac who just cares less about his loveless marriage and dead-end job. Is he really arguing that someone isn't actually happy or happier, but just THINKS they are? And if someone believes that they are happy, how are they not actually happy?

Wanting his answer to these questions enticed me to continue reading up to page 146 and then I finally gave it up. I feel happy about my decision to stop reading this book, but I have no way of knowing if Dworkin would agree I'm happy. Guess I'll never know, since apparently his personal validation is the only way anyone can ever legitimately be happy.

As an aside, he reflects on a ninety-year-old obese heart patient he anesthetized in the past and refers to said patient as "fatty." (Yes, really. On page 128.) I can only hope he was being facetious, but none of the contextual cues indicated he was. So if the boring writing doesn't get to you, the offensive and insensitive way he speaks about people who are allegedly actual patients he has treated just might.

[Filosofemme]

RECENSIONE COMPLETA QUI https://www.filosofemme.it/2018/05/07...

[In Italia] Il numero di assistibili di età uguale o maggiore di 18 anni in trattamento con farmaci antidepressivi nell’anno di riferimento 2015 è risultato pari a 1.356.650. […] La prevalenza del trattamento è risultata in aumento rispetto l’anno precedente (+1,1% nel 2015 rispetto al 2014). [1]

Gli impressionanti numeri indicati dall’osservatorio dell’Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco mostrano dati molto importanti e comprendenti un quantitativo sostanzioso di persone. Ho riportato qui il dato italiano per poter avere un paragone con la mastodonticità delle cifre leggibili nel testo Felicità Artificiale di Ronald W. Dworkin in riferimento alla popolazione americana. Vengono trattati con farmaci non solamente le forme più acute di depressione, bensì anche quelle lievi, spesso bypassando quelle che sono le dimensioni meno molecolari e più umane delle soluzioni. Felicità Artificiale si inserisce in questo processo, come analisi del fenomeno nella sua totalità. Un libro indagine, vissuto come un viaggio nel Novecento americano, che ha visto innumerevoli tentativi di riaffermazione della medicina di base come figura di riferimento nella vita e nelle case delle persone comuni.

CONTINUA QUI https://www.filosofemme.it/2018/05/07...

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gotta say that this guy makes some incredibly sweeping generalizations, and half-assed arguments about placebos and alternative medicine. His historical research is decent, but I suspect that the conclusions he comes to were decided apriori.
I must say though I am curious as to how this argument fits into the whole conservative worldview (it took me reading the book jacket quotes to find out that he and his supporters are hard-core neocons). He argues that medicating yourself makes you less likely to make the personal life changes that would make you happier. Does that imply that collective change is not relevant? I'm confused.

[Martha]

Written by a practicing physician reflecting on society's current misunderstanding of feeling and clinical ailments. Overmedicalization has caused unhappiness to be viewed as a disease to be treated with psychotropic drugs instead of changing one's own life. If a physician feels that the best remedy is reflecting on one's own situation instead of stupefying oneself with desensitizing neurotransmitter influencing pills, you know society is in trouble. Very similar to Brave New World, except the accounts are real and now.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting--and Gosh knows I can see the negative impact of artificial happiness all around me. Children are growing up believing pills are the answer in many cases wheree they aren't. It really can't be good for their social development, can it? I really like the case studies and the explanations.

[Jiajia Liu · Rating 1 out of 5]

I borrowed this book when i was first diagnosed with clinical depression. I was debating with myself and doctors about whether i should get on SSRI. This books says no, but after reading about the conservative agenda the author carries, i decided to get on the medication. It saved my life.

this book was terrible, it was not a fun read.

[Terance Cantrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

That there can be profound moral implications to the use of psychotropic medications.

[Jenny]

Boo! I didn't like this book and think he's too one sided and over simplistic when looking at mental health issues. I couldn’t finish it.

[Janee' · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't really get into the book. Im a health care professional and I thought this book was very one sided. I never finished reading the entire book.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

If only you could give a negative star rating...

[Elissa]

didn't finish it actually. It read kind of like a textbook

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for school. The author's perspective of taking antidepressants was very good.