The Ethics of Interpersonal Relationships

'...a valuable and well-researched, solid contribution to the field of ethics... I found myself admiring the organization and thorough nature of the book. Also, it added to my conceptualization of the lives of more than a few of my own patients. It is a book in which one cannot help but recognize glimpses of family, friends and self. If nothing else, the authors have provided an illuminating mirror, with optimism and hope for correcting that which ails us as individuals and society as a whole.'- Meghan A. Harris in Bioethical Inquiry: 8 (2011)'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

Joyce Catlett

ContentsPart I: An Innovative Approach to EthicsPart II: Coping with Unethical Ways of LivingPart IV: Destructive LifestylesPart V: Ethical and Unethical Societal Practices