Addiction and its sciences-philosophy
- PMID: 20955490
- DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03158.x
Addiction and its sciences-philosophy
Abstract
Philosophers have been writing about addiction continually since the 1990s, and a number of much older, broader philosophical theories are of direct relevance to the study of addiction. Yet the developments in the philosophical study of addiction have seldom been incorporated into the science of addiction. In this paper I focus upon two issues in the scientific literature: the disease classification of addiction and the claim that addictive behaviour is compulsive. While each of these views is open to debate on empirical grounds, there is a long history of philosophical work which must be engaged if these claims are to be justified in a philosophical sense. I begin by showing how the conceptual work of philosophers such as Boorse and Nordenfelt can be used to critique the claim that addiction is a disease. Following this, I demonstrate how deep philosophical concepts of freedom and willpower are embedded into scientists' claims about compulsion in drug addiction. These concepts are paradoxical and difficult, and they have consumed numerous contemporary philosophers of mind, such as Audi, Arpaly, Frankfurt, Mele, Wallace and Watson, among many others. I show how problems can arise when scientists sidestep the work of these philosophers, and I explain where scientists should seek to include, and sometimes exclude, philosophical concepts.
Conclusions: Many philosophical concepts and theories can be of use to addiction science. The philosophical work must be understood and acknowledged if the science is to progress.
© 2010 The Author, Addiction © 2010 Society for the Study of Addiction.
Similar articles
-
Bridging the Gap between Philosophers of Mind and Brain Researchers: The Example of Addiction.Mens Sana Monogr. 2011 Jan;9(1):193-201. doi: 10.4103/0973-1229.77435. Mens Sana Monogr. 2011. PMID: 21694970 Free PMC article.
-
Euphoria, ecstacy, inebriation, abuse, dependence, and addiction: a conceptual analysis.Med Health Care Philos. 2005;8(1):79-87. doi: 10.1007/s11019-004-6411-6. Med Health Care Philos. 2005. PMID: 15906942 Review.
-
Received View of Addiction, Relapse and Treatment.Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;1010:3-19. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-5562-1_1. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017. PMID: 29098665 Review.
-
Definition of Substance and Non-substance Addiction.Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;1010:21-41. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-5562-1_2. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017. PMID: 29098666 Review.
-
Scientific and conceptual flaws of coercive treatment models in addiction.J Med Ethics. 2016 Jan;42(1):18-21. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2015-102910. Epub 2015 Oct 13. J Med Ethics. 2016. PMID: 26463621
Cited by
-
Conceptualizations of Addiction and Moral Responsibility.Front Psychol. 2019 Jun 28;10:1483. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01483. eCollection 2019. Front Psychol. 2019. PMID: 31316438 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical