Review article
https://doi.org/10.31337/oz.81.1.4
Searching for a Link Between Independence of Mind and Mental Health
Maja Žitinski
; Fakultet za medije i odnose s javnošću, Dubrovnik, Hrvatska
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper reveals — in regard to themes on the culture of empathy and mental
health — the extent to which empathy constitutes the state of the human mind and
the way in which the confrontation with violence or injustice affects mental health.
The fact that man is immersed in communication arouses in him a compelling need
for orientation when confronted by cultural, economic, political and other aspects of
concentrated social power. The paper guides us towards a clearer diagnosis of toxic
social conditions: it shows why modern man is a victim of dichotomies, and it shows
him the way to preserve his integrity — his physical and mental health — without
subjugating others or discriminating against them. Human understanding has been
based on language, while moral thinking is rooted in the most comprehensive of all
sciences, in ethics, which is brimming with the patrimony of prudence. Bioethics is
the youngest science of its kind, and as it aspires to transmute selfish thinking into
moral thinking, it makes use of multidisciplinary knowledge. Bioethics can unveil the
essential components of empathy which are not only the emotions but also reflexivity.
Keywords
state of mind; violence; egalitarian capitalism; neoliberal capitalism; empathy; mental health; reflexivity
Hrčak ID:
341004
URI
Publication date:
7.1.2026.
Visits: 329 *