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Peter D. Kramer, M.D., is a psychiatrist and faculty member of Brown Medical School specializing in the area of depression. He considers depression to be a serious illness with tangible physiological effects such as disorganizing the brain and disrupting the functioning of the cardiovascular system. He criticizes society for romanticizing depression in the same way that tuberculosis was once romanticized; romantic notions involve claims of artistic sensitivity or of genius arising from depression.
Kramer's most notable book is Listening to Prozac (1993). This work was grounded in the observation that, treated with antidepressants, some patients reported feeling "better than well." This result led Kramer to consider the feasibility of "cosmetic psychopharmacology," the use of medication in healthy people to induce personality traits that are desired or socially rewarded. In the book, Kramer considers the consequences for medical ethics and critiques the tendency of the culture to reward particular personality styles, namely those characterized by energy and assertiveness. The book is commonly mistakenly believed (by those who haven't read it) to argue for the use of the medication. His other books include:
- Against Depression (2005)
- Spectacular Happiness : A Novel (2001)
- Should You Leave? : A Psychiatrist Explores Intimacy and Autonomy—and the Nature of Advice (1999)
- Moments of Engagement: Intimate Psychotherapy in a Technological Age (1989)
His articles include:
- The Valorization of Sadness (from The Hastings Center Report) (2000)
Kramer is host of the public radio program The Infinite Mind, produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media. Each week, the program, which is heard on 250 public radio stations in the U.S., focuses on a different topic related to the human mind, brain and behavior.
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