Ethics and addiction
Authors
O'Rourke, Philip
Issue Date
2008
Degree
MA in Addiction Studies
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
Items in Esource are protected by copyright. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/copyright holder.
Abstract
This thesis is about ethics and addiction. It proposes that Addicts are captives and captivated by their addiction: it proposes that this captivity may be a captivity of ontology, a capacity to the theories and ethics that flow from this ontology. On the surface ontology appears to offer freedom, autonomy and self-determination, control and domination. Yet, on closer examination what passes for freedom may in fact be simply delusion - a non-freedom. This thesis will propose a different view of ethics whereby the addict may surrender his or her preciously held image of freedom in exchange for the weight of limitless responsibility.