Addicts, Mythmakers, and Philosophers

The main point of the section of the article titled “Addiction is a Disorder” is “addiction is not just a condition made up of a bunch of weak-willed acts” because an addiction takes over a person’s entire being (Brody). Brody’s theory of addiction as a disorder is extremely useful because it shed light on the difficult problem of how to approach handing an addiction (Graff 62). It cannot be seen as simply a mind over matter situation because addiction is like a disease. For example, Hal, the nurse who is addicted to painkillers, “didn’t want to continue with the nightmarish lifestyle he was engaged in,” but “he couldn’t stop” (Brody). It is difficult to understand the state of mind that an addict endures. Brody is surely right about his analysis of an addict’s motivations (Graff 62). Brody’s point is that addiction “undermines their ability to accurately assess their problem’s seriousness as it repetitively generates a willingness or motivation for acting in violation of their most important preferences, even knowingly” (Graff 47)(Brody). Most addicts do not acknowledge that they have a problem, until something tragic happens to bring them back to reality. These assertions challenge people’s common assumption that addicts simply do not wish to get better (Graff 96). Yet, addicts become blind to their condition, and all that they think about is their drug of choice. Until an addict can “realize how insane [he has] become,” he will not change (Brody). However, once that pivotal moment manifests itself, then there can be immense change in the right direction towards healing the condition.

Brody, Alan. "Addicts, Mythmakers, and Philosophers." Philosophy Now. Philosophy Now:     

           2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say I Say. New York: W.W. Norton

           & Company, Inc., 2015. Print.