Addicts, Mythmakers, and Philosophers

The main argument of this article is that addiction is harder to overcome than simply just one will do such a thing. Many different elements play into the fact that the action of succumbing of alcohol is exponentially more difficult than promising oneself to quit. I completely agree with the author's standpoint on this issue. Overall, the process of quitting an addiction is a mind game. Your mind has to be stronger than what your body wants. Consider smoking, for example (136). I agree with Brody's point that "many smokers would prefer not to smoke. They believe that smoking is bad for them, and often express their preference not to smoke...". Unfortunately, however, many people cannot force themselves to quit his or her addiction whether it be drinking, smoking, drugs, etc.

In this day and age, you would think that some type of technology would have been invented to assist people who have become victims to addiction (24). How hard would it be for scientists to come up with a device that makes oneself stop their addiction? In Brody's article, he says that Socrates says "when face with a decision, human nature means we want to do what we think is best". If a device, for example, a pill of some sort, that could alter the human mind to make it stronger to choose the better of options (136).

Just to show how "insane" addicts are Brody uses a patient's story in which he said "I knew I was an alcoholic after my bike hit something and I went flying off, but had made sure that my hands and arms protected my bottle rather than my head". Saying addicts have a tough life would be an understatement. They are their own worst enemy. Many addicts know the actions they perform are illegal and/or damaging to themselves. Another patient of Brody's clearly explains this point: "Hal hated stealing his patients' medication, using toilet water in a fix, and living in a panic about being caught".

My conclusion, then, is that if one truly needs to quit his or her addiction, they will stop their addiction, but until that time, the addiction will continue until no end (137). The world without any type of addiction would be a happier, less glum place to live. No drug overdoses by drug addicts, no deaths by drunk driving alcoholics, and no more lung cancer for smokers.


Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say / I Say. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2015. Print.

Brody, Alan. "Addicts, Mythmakers, and Philosophers." Philosophy Now. Philosophy Now: 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.