Abstract

Abstract:

Clinical criteria have trouble distinguishing addictions, on the one hand, from, on the other hand, appetites—like our appetites for food and water—and non-addictive passions that guide our lives, from serious hobbies to parenting. The simplest explanation of how addictions are distinct from non-addictive appetites and passions is that addictive behavior reveals some misvaluation by the addict, that the addict is wrong to act as she does. Psychological evidence supports this philosophical proposal by explaining how such a misvaluation is reinforced, namely by the addict’s acting in unthinking, impulsive ways. This reinforcement explains addiction’s chronic resistance to contrary evidence. This proposal neatly accounts for the questions left unanswered by standard diagnostic criteria of addiction.

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