ABSTRACT
Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy propose just such a “no disorder” conception of addiction. An addict, they say, may act self-destructively or objectionably by social or moral standards. Of course, denying that addiction is a disorder depends upon just how addiction is best or more fully described or understood. Suppose we assume that addiction, properly so-called, puts a person’s health or welfare at serious risk. “Addiction” is used by ordinary folks as well as most behavioral scientists to identify a type of excessive and deleterious behavior, behavior that is repeatedly engaged in despite its negative consequences, and often prefaced by impulses or motives that an addict wishes to control but finds difficult to consistently master, self-manage, or govern. To possess a power of self-responsibility, a person must not only be capable of evaluating which desires, impulses, or inhibitions one acts upon or possesses, but “of controlling behaviour in the light of reflections”.
