The Ethics of Interpersonal Relationships

Synopsis:

'Our inspiration for writing this book springs from a deep feeling for people and a grave concern that without a proper understanding of the reasons for their inhumanity in relation to one another and the development of a compassionate world view, it is likely that human beings may eventually destroy themselves and life on the planet. This work is an attempt to explain the source of destructive behaviour and how it manifests itself in personal relationships between men, women, couples, and families, and in the social arena. We present a position that offers a hope of altering the destiny of humankind's unethical behavior through better psychological understanding and education. Understanding the source of a person's aggressiveness in defending the fantasy bond and learning to cope with the voice process have strong implications for child-rearing and better mental health practices. Identifying destructive behaviours and faulty programming in family life and society, developing insight into the relationship between defences and aggressive responses, and offering a method to counteract destructive trends constitute a challenge to what many people consider to be humankinds basically unethical nature.' - From the Authors' Introduction

Description:

'This wonderful book rescues ethics from the dusty shelf of rules and abstractions. With sound scholarship, fresh thinking, and a friendly voice, Firestone and Catlett help us confront the most urgent questions of human existence and our relationships with each other. An invaluable resource to learn from, argue with, and think through who we are and want to be.'
- Kenneth S. Pope, PhD, ABPP, author (with Melba Vasquez) of Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide

'Firestone and Catlett provide a well-developed psychological explanation of unethical behavior. The enduring damage from early emotional deprivation and its patterned scars of personal defensiveness render any of us less able to treat others as we would want to be treated. Although not intended as an ethics text, the authors poignantly illustrate the moral philosophy of care ethics and the moral consequences of humans situated in uncaring worlds. Spouses, partners, parents, healthcare professionals, corporate executives, and political leaders may all benefit from a fresh reminder that more care in our personal interactions is the same model of ethics needed for global survival.'
- Ronee Smith Griffith, PhD, Director, Relational Ethics Institute

'In examining the ethics of interpersonal relationships Firestone and Catlett take a psychologist’s aim at power, friendship, and transience and place them in a historical and pragmatic perspective. They posit the universal fear of mortality as an engine that ultimately generates interpersonal rifts as well as global abuses of power. By way of illustration, they describe their compassionate view of personal engagement in the “friendship circle”, a 30-year, ongoing social experiment that neutralizes fear and aversive childhood conditioning. This is thought-provoking reading!'
- Thomas F. Nagy, PhD, Independent practitioner in Palo Alto, California; author, Ethics in Plain English.

'I was deeply moved by Robert Firestone’s and Joyce Catlett’s inspiration for writing this wise and insightful book. Each chapter is full of information and new insights, and the book as a whole points the reader to “a more satisfying and effective mode of existence, a lifestyle based on a non-defended, vulnerable, and feelingful approach to life.” I whole-heartedly recommend the book to all readers, professional and lay alike, who are concerned with the deterioration of basic human ethics evident all around us.'
- Professor Ayala Malach-Pines, Department Head, Ben-Gurion University, Israel

'In a profoundly compassionate and elegant new book, The Ethics of Interpersonal Relationships (2009), Robert Firestone and Joyce Catlett present a broad psychological view on the source of unethical behavior.'
- Ronee Smith Griffith, Ph.D., Ridgeview Institute's Magazine

Contents
Part I: An Innovative Approach to Ethics
Part II: Coping with Unethical Ways of Living
Part IV: Destructive Lifestyles
Part V: Ethical and Unethical Societal Practices

Notes about the author(s):

Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, author, and artist. Dr Firestone was in private practice of psychotherapy from 1957 to 1979. In 1979, he joined the Glendon Association as its consulting theorist. His major publications include The Fantasy Bond, Compassionate Child-Rearing, and Fear of Intimacy. His studies of negative thought processes led to the development of an innovative therapeutic methodology described in Voice Therapy, Suicide and the Inner Voice, Combating Destructive Thought Processes, Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion: The Wisdom of Psychotherapy and Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships. In collaboration with his daughter, Dr Lisa Firestone, he developed three assessment instruments: The Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts [FAST], The Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent [FASI] and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts [FAVT].