Jean-François Mattei is a philosopher. Professor emeritus at the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, he also serves as an expert on philosophy for the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research. He is the author of numerous philosophic works.
Henri Delmar is an aesthetic surgeon.

Physical appearance plays a major role in today’s culture. What we look like not only defines us but it has become an indispensable factor of social and professional success. As a result, those who are considered unattractive encounter greater difficulties and are apt to lose their self-confidence. As a result, aesthetic surgery, with its capacity to improve appearance, can seem to provide the answer.
Can the latest aesthetic surgery techniques help boost self-confidence or, on the contrary, do they carry the risk of artificially idealising appearance?
The authors highlight the ethical dimension of aesthetic surgery, notably in the way surgeons interpret and comply with their patients’ requests, and in the visible and hidden forces that drive patients. For the authors, the recourse to aesthetic surgery is not alien to the issue of repairing self-esteem.

This detailed philosophical reflection on the nature of aesthetic surgery aims to help us understand every facet at stake.
The book poses the broader question of the body and of self-image.