Pathological Altruism

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 and social programs that ultimately worsen the situations they are meant to aid. IPathological Altruism/I is a groundbreaking new book - the first to explore the negative aspects of altruism and empathy, seemingly uniformly positive traits. The contributing authors provide a scientific, social, and cultural foundation for the subject of pathological altruism, creating a new field of inquiry. Each author's approach points to one disturbing truth: what we value so much, the altruistic "good" side of human nature, can also have a dark side that we ignore at our peril.

Part I: The Psychology of AltruismChapter 1: Pathological Altruism - An IntroductionBarbara Oakley, Ariel Knafo, and Michael McGrathChapter 2: Empathy-Based Pathogenic Guilt, Pathological Altruism, and PsychopathologyLynn E. O'Connor, Jack W. Berry, Thomas Lewis, David J. StiverChapter 3: A Contextual Behavioural Approach to Pathological AltruismRoger Vilardaga and Steven C. HayesChapter 4: Codependency and Pathological AltruismMichael McGrathPart II: Psychiatric Implications of Pathological AltruismChapter 5: Self-Addiction and Self-RighteousnessBy David BrinChapter 6: Pathological Altruism and Personality DisorderThomas A. Widiger and Jennifer Ruth PresnallChapter 7: The relevance of pathological altruism to eating disordersRachel Bachner-MelmanChapter 8: Animal Hoarding: How the Semblance of a Benevolent Mission Becomes Actualized as Egoism and CrueltyJane N. Nathanson and Gary J. PatronekChapter 9: Everyone's friend? The case of Williams syndromeDeborah M Riby, Vicki Bruce, & Ali JawaidPart III. Societal implications of pathological altruismChapter 10: Pathological CertitudeRobert BurtonChapter 11: Altruism and Suffering in the Context of Cancer: Implications of a Relational ParadigmMadeline Li, Gary RodinChapter 12: Considering Pathological Altruism in the Law from Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Neuroscience PerspectivesMichael L. PerlinChapter 13: Pathological Altruism: Victims and Motivational TypesBrent E. TurveyChapter 14: Does No Good Deed Go Unpunished? The Victimology of AltruismRobert J. Homant and Daniel B. KennedyChapter 15: Suicide Attack Martyrdoms: Temperament and Mindset of Altruistic WarriorsAdolf Tobe?aChapter 16: Genocide: From pathological altruism to pathological obedienceAugustine BranniganChapter 17: Too Much of a Good Thing? Foreign Aid and Pathological AltruismGuruprasad Madhavan and Barbara OakleyChapter 18: Was Gandhi A "Pathological Altruist"?Arun GandhiChapter 19: A Contrarian Perspective on Altruism: The Dangers of First ContactDavid BrinChapter 20: Is Pathological Altruism Altruism?Bernard BerofskyChapter 21: Altruism, Pathology, and CultureJohn W. TraphaganPart IV. Cultural and evolutionary dimensions of pathological altruismChapter 22: Culture-gene coevolution of empathy and altruismJoan Y. Chiao, Katherine D. Blizinsky, Vani A. Mathur, Bobby K. CheonChapter 23: The Messianic Effect of Pathological AltruismJorge M. Pacheco and Francisco C. SantosChapter 24: Battered Women, Happy Genes: There Is No Such Thing as Altruism, Pathological or OtherwiseSatoshi KanazawaPart V. The development and underlying brain processes of pathological altruismChapter 25: Empathy, Guilt, and Depression: When Caring for Others Becomes Costly to ChildrenCarolyn Zahn-Waxler & Carol Van HulleChapter 26: Autism, Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) Theory, and Pathological AltruismSimon Baron-CohenChapter 27: Seduction Super-Responders and Hyper-Trusters: The Biology of Affiliative BehaviorKarol M. PessinChapter 28: Empathic Distress Fatigue Rather than Compassion Fatigue? - Integrating Findings from Empathy Research in Psychology and Social NeuroscienceOlga Klimecki and Tania SingerChapter 29: Hell's angels-a runaway model of pathological altruismMarc D. HauserChapter 30: Altruism gone madJoachim I. KruegerChapter 31: Pathology, Evolution, and AltruismDavid Sloan Wilson