Can Addicts Help It?
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 6:18 pm
"What, then, of addiction? I have suggested that there is room for the concept of addiction even if its boundaries are fuzzy. I suggest that addiction is more a disorder of desire than of will. Typically, acting on an addictive desire creates more desire rather than satisfies it. Additionally, addicts find it more distressing to resist their desires than do non-addicts. This could have some relevance for the attribution of moral blame; we could say that addiction is similar to duress in some respects. But this is not equivalent to the powerlessness argued for by Twelve Step programmes. People can and sometimes do resist intense impulses by themselves, without outside help." Can Addicts Help It? (Underling added)
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I disagree with the author.
I was surprised to discover in my reading that both Thomas Aquinas and William James subscribed to the principle that the more one resists giving in to a desire, the weaker that desire becomes.
The principle has been useful regarding my use of cigarettes. December 3, 2008, was the first chosen day when I did not smoke. I have not smoked since that day. I have resisted all temptations. Now on most days I don't even think of smoking.
I now say that overcoming an addiction is a matter of the will besting a desire. I smoked over a pack a day continuously for 50 years. If I can quit such an addiction, anybody can do likewise with respect to their addiction.