Preface; Contents; Contributors; About the Editor; Abbreviations; Part I: Humanitarian and Social Perspectives on Suffering Alleviation; Chapter 1: A Worldview of the Alleviation of Suffering; Introduction; The Definition and Concept of Suffering; Basic Principles of Alleviating Suffering; Useful Frames for Thinking About Suffering-Alleviation; Suffering-Alleviation as Moral and Social Responsibility; Suffering-Alleviation as Unnecessary If Not Harmful; Suffering-Alleviation as Human Purpose and Meaning; Suffering-Alleviation as Key to Community and Civil Society

Suffering-Alleviation as Improving Quality of Life Suffering-Prevention as a Perspective on the Future; Global Social Sectors of Suffering-Alleviation; The Humanitarian Sector; The Social Policy Sector; The Caregiving Sector; The Spiritual Sector; Philosophical Issues in Prioritizing Suffering-Alleviation; Approaches to Alleviating Extreme Suffering; Global Trends in Suffering and Suffering-Alleviation; Nations with Dramatic Declines in Suffering; Overview of the Chapters; Part I. Humanitarian and Social Perspectives on Suffering-Alleviation

Part II. Quality of Life (QOL), Caring and Suffering-Alleviation Part III. Improving Global Development, Healthcare and Poverty Reduction; Part IV. Violent Societal Conflict, Human Rights and Justice; Part V. Preventing Future Suffering; Conclusion; References; Chapter 2: Systemic Humiliation as Daily Social Suffering; Introduction; Humiliation as Physical, Social, and Moral Suffering; Systemic Humiliation; Discriminatory State Directives; Ideologies of Rank-Ordering; Essentializing Language; Stereotypical Images; Destructive Cultural Symbols

Alleviating the Impact of Systemic Humiliation Political Perspective; Social Perspective; Human Rights Perspective; Conclusion; References; Chapter 3: Suffering and the Ethics of Solidarity; Introduction; The Instrumentalization of Humanitarianism; Solidarity Without Grand Narratives; The Technologization of Communication; Conclusion; References; Chapter 4: Social Suffering and the Enigma of Humanitarianism; Introduction; The New Wave of Research on Social Suffering; Emerging Segregation Between the Social Sciences and Humanitarianism

New Roles for Humanitarianism in Social Research Going Forward: Humanitarian Research Responds to Human Suffering; References; Chapter 5: Synergy, Dysergy and the Alleviation of Preventable Suffering; Introduction; Teleological and Telic Foundations; Dysergy and Synergy at the Individual Level; Dysergy and Synergy at the Interpersonal and Social Level; Towards Mental, Interpersonal and Social Synergies; Developing a Culture of Unconditional Acceptance; Helping People to Develop Communication Skills; Developing Trust; Orientating Society to Synergetic Wants