Description
Book SynopsisThe central problem in the study of addiction is to explain why people repeatedly behave in ways they know are bad for them. For much of the previous century and until the present day, the majority of scientific and medical attempts to solve this problem were couched in terms of involuntary behavior; if people behave in ways they do not want, then this must be because the behavior is beyond their control and outside the realm of choice. An opposing tradition, which finds current support among scientists and scholars as well as members of the general public, is that so-called addictive behavior reflects an ordinary choice just like any other and that the concept of addiction is a myth. The editors and authors of this book tend to take neither view. There has been an increasing recognition in recent literature on addiction that restricting possible conceptions of it to either of these extreme positions is unhelpful and is retarding progress on understanding the nature of addiction and wh
Trade ReviewPsychologists, philosophers, behavioral scientists, neuroscientists, curious clinicians, and researchers with a wide array of interests would find something here to challenge them. This volume provides a thoughtful, comprehensive, and rewarding analysis of the dilemma of addiction where individuals seem enslaved and yet can break the bonds of this slavery. * Carlo DiClemente, PsyCRITIQUES *
Table of ContentsSECTION I: INTRODUCTION; SECTION II: PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS; SECTION III: PERSPECTIVES FROM NEUROSCIENCE; SECTION IV: PERSPECTIVES FROM BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS AND COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY; SECTION V: IMPLICATIONS FOR TREATMENT, PREVENTION, AND PUBLIC HEALTH; SECTION VI IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF ADDICTION AND FOR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR; SECTION VII CONCLUSIONS
