The very definition of addiction has no consensus among the scientists as well as philosophers. To the Socrates’ question “What is it?” there are many answers. While one group, the orthodox one, includes it into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the others, in particular, Matthews, expand the scope of research and state that addiction is a pattern of behavior. Moreover, the last can be both harmful to the addict, for example, drug or alcohol dependence, and neutral, as addiction to sex or eating. Of course, too much of something neutral can also be bad, but the fact is that addiction is not always negative. It varies in the extent and effects, and it is natural for a human as a social being. The main reasons for having an addiction lie in the social connections and bonds, people’s necessity to take pleasure in something and the desire to try something new, although some people may state that these reasons cannot lead to an actual addiction.
Following the Group
Each person, as a part of society, needs to belong to some group and not to stand out from it. This is a natural instinct of survival, because it is easier to survive in a group rather than to fight the enemy alone. It makes a person do what everyone does. First of all, it is an expression of a person in a society, so to say a collective behavior, which can encourage a person to make unthinkable and irresponsible decisions when compared with those, made outside the collective. The second reason is fear to seem weaker for the other representatives of the group. Again, it is the expression of natural or animal instincts to look strong, as it simulates or arouses the feeling of safety and security.
Considering the collective behavior and the pursuit to seem a mature representative of its kind, a future addict takes unreasonable decisions under the influence of a ‘bad collective’. This way of creating an addiction is inherent to teenagers; in worse cases, the upper limit reaches a 30-year-old mark. The explanation still should be sought in nature, because it is the age for looking for a partner. Thus, in order to seem more mature and ready to satisfy and protect the partner, a man or woman tries to convince everyone, including him or her, of readiness to be an adult.
As a person spends much time in a group, the one, who happened to be in a ‘bad’ one, is more at risk of becoming an addict. The way of entertainment, if it brings pleasure, fun, and positive emotions tend to be stable. The matter lies in a pleasurable experience of any kind, caused by a release of chemical compounds, in particular dopamine. They make the 'reward' pathways active. That is why a person is more likely to do the same action to experience pleasure, no matter what causes the release of a compound: drugs, alcohol, or just playing cards. Thus, socialization and involvement of an individual in a certain group, the development of close relations, friendship, and trust can lead to having an addiction in result of a repeatable activity of a collective.
However, some people may say that not each group is inclined to develop an addiction in its members. Still, according to Szalavitz each second drug, cigarette, or alcohol addict developed a bad habit while socializing with friends. If to take into consideration the experience of pleasure and a wish to have it one more time, it is clear that activity is sure to be repeated.
Looking for a re-connection
Having lost the former source of pleasure, a person is looking for another in order to fill the void. An example of a man, who became addicted to substance, began drinking or smoking while having problems in life, is not rare. Moreover, if a person has lost a source of pleasure, he looks for compensation, regardless of the negative effects and possible addiction. One more example of substitution is starting to eat more while quitting smoking, or vice versa beginning to smoke while trying to lose weight and being on a diet. The depression, caused by a sudden deprivation of pleasure requires immediate re-connection with anything bringing it back. It is worsened by the gravity of the situation in the conditions of constant problems at work, family, and so on.
Addiction is rooted in a history of a person’s individual, social, and cultural development. In this particular case it means a necessity to realize that factors of joy, omitted in life on purpose or by a chance, prompt an adjustment to another addiction, the first tries of which were seldom, nice, and pleasant. If to speak about trying alcohol, cigarette, or any drug, the first experience can hardly be called efficacious in a sense of bringing pleasure. One does not like the taste of a cigarette or an alcoholic beverage, the other suffers from the reaction of the organism during the processing of taken substances. However, when the organism manages to dull the senses of taste and process, the brain begins to have more pleasure than dissatisfaction. Thus, the addiction is established.
The void as well as social connections and bonds have two-sided links. The first is the reason of having a void, which can be a break-up with the loved ones, death, quarrel, or just the lack of time to have proper social relations. The second is the knowledge of how to fill the void. It shows itself through information, which came from the conversation and trough advertisement. It represents the reinforcement of the first argument about a bad influence of groups, whereas advertising always has a positive content for the brain, as it associates the product with pleasure. Thus, the ways of re-connection come through society.
At the same time, some people argue that the void can be filled by other means such as eating chocolate, finding other friends, and starting new hobbies. However, drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes are the easiest way to forget and substitute the previous source. The problem for them is a compulsive character, which, according to Foddy, manifests itself in four ways. The first is the insensitivity to the costs of the drug use. The second is a failure to reduce their drug use. The third is strong desires, which addicts are unable to control. Finally, it is identifiable neurological processes, which are the root causes. Due to this, a compulsion to find a new re-connection comes to a future addict through society.
Try Everything – Life Is Short
Socrates once said that the unexplored life is not worth living. If this concept prevails in the mind of a person, then he is more inclined to become an addict not because of a desire to seem fashionable and mature and not because of a void, but for the sake of trying. Then, according to O’Connor’s, there are parallels between Plato’s allegory and a life of an addict, as the cave and shadows become real, while the outside world and light become a myth. It is hard to believe in the existence of something beyond the cave, as well as to step outside and fight the addiction.
Social connections and bonds define the outlook of a man, his character, behavior, and perception of life. If a man is brought up with many features, which determine him as the one, who takes everything from life, he cannot resist the seduction. The reason is the inability and unwillingness to say ‘no’. Hence, an addict is born.
Many people would say that not everyone can be seduced, but only those, who live with a life motto ‘Life is too short not to try’. However, considering two previous arguments, which result in saying ‘yes’ to everything, the group, which follows the Socrates’ principle, is under the biggest risk. While the first argument is only about the factor of age, the second is the combination of the first one and the void, and the last is the sum of first two and an inability to refuse. In result, the intertwining of all factors does not give the sum of everything. The effect of combination comes forth, strengthening the repercussions of addiction and toughening the ‘way from the cave’.
Due to the fact that the study of addiction has been conducted by philosophers and therapists independently, it is vital to combine their findings in order to create a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. Cooperation of two fields will result in giving better knowledge about the nature of addiction and, what is more important, about the ways of fighting its adverse manifestation.
The collective behavior makes it easier to take all the decisions without overthinking them carefully. The urgent need to re-connect with any source of pleasure and receive a dose of a dopamine makes people resort to any available resource. The desire to try everything, offered by a chance of life, presents a serious risk of becoming a victim of an inability to refuse.
Living in a society is inevitable. As each manifestation of nature, this fact poses a risk to individuals, who cannot resist its harmful flows as some sorts of addiction. The way to oppose them is to stay strong and not to lose positive social connections and bonds. In case they are lost, one should try to find the way out of the cave for an addict, and to be an enlightener in the cave for people, who care. Addiction is not a disease; it is a natural pattern of behavior in society. The positive or negative effects are defined by a sort of the society, by which the addict is surrounded.
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