Suggestion, Ethics of

The concept of suggestion is a topic of broad discussion that cuts across many disciplines including philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and psychiatry. Whilst suggestion can be defined broadly as a process by which an agent‘s autonomy is overwhelmed and is substituted by heteronomy, many kinds of suggestive influences exist, and these tend to vary greatly in intensity. All suggestive influences can be linked to‘ Altered States of Consciousness‘ (ASCs) in some way, and whilst the agent commonly is the subject of suggestive influence from a separate other, agents can be both the subject and object of suggestion: concepts such as autosuggestion and self-deception arise out of such phenomena. The quality of suggestibility can also vary in strength between individuals: some agents are more responsive to suggestive stimuli than others. Several philosophical problems are central to the ethics of suggestion: these include issues around responsibility, free agency, and personal identity.