Addiction: Biology, Sin, or a Created Environment?

Addiction Economy Thought for Today - is addiction a problem of sin or biology? Or something else? The whole point of our Addiction Economy project right here!

Looking forward to reading this new book here from Guy Leschziner in The Guardian on the Biological Model of addiction which says it's all about the individual. It is explained through our genes, our body chemistry, our brain development, a 'disorder' which some, but not all have.

As the article says "It might be argued that there is a clear distinction between those who are not “normal” or “healthy” and the rest of us. For those with clear neurological disease, they have little or limited control over their nature, while the rest of us have free will – the ability to choose, to act in one way or another.... So, at what point does normal end and pathological begin? When do all these intrinsic and environmental factors that shape the structure and function of our brains constitute a sufficiently heavy burden to rob us of the capacity to exert free will?"

Billions of people are addicted to unhealthy foods, cigarettes, alcohol, smoking, gambling, social media and now vapes, as well as other illegal drugs. Billions. Are we really saying that all those people have something 'not normal' about their brains? No, of course not.

We say that the 'heavy burden' is the addictive environment that they live in, which affects such an incredibly large and diverse number of people that the Biological Model really isn't sustainable as 'the answer' and needless to say neither is the Moral Model, which says billions of people have, in the last 40 years, lost their self control because they are weak and lack will power.

The only explanation is that addictive products and an addictive environment has been orchestrated which manipulates them by a sophisticated understanding of human biology and psychology to undermine their self control. We say it needs to be stopped and looking at the way the addictive products and the addictive environment is created, and making them unaddictive, is the best place to start.

Sending our first outline and a couple of chapters off to publisher next week fingers crossed!

You might like this Simon Bratt, Grant Ennis, Nason Maani, May CI van Schalkwyk, Harry Tattan-Birch, Ph.D.

https://lnkd.in/e3gnHDS4