ABSTRACT
Addiction is controversial in at least two ways in bioethics. Theories of addiction are controversial. And theories of whether addicts are to blame for what they do out of addiction are also controversial. This chapter addresses both controversies. Addicts are distinctively addicts not because of how much they want the drugs to which they are addicted but because of their unhealthily powerful habits and in their unhealthily strong expectations surrounding these drugs. The scientific image of the addict used to match the popular image, but in the last two decades that has changed dramatically because of the striking fact that addiction outlasts withdrawal, often by years or even decades. If addiction were just chemical dependency, then addicts would be just as responsible for their actions as everyone else. The addict comes across as callous or unfeeling, caring only about the addictive drug, but that impression is misleading.
