Addiction: A Disease or a Moral Failing? A Must Read NYT Piece
Plus, I need your help with something!
Was my brain hijacked by drugs — or was I willfully choosing to risk it all for a few hours of selfish pleasure? What makes people continue taking drugs like street fentanyl, which put them at daily risk of death? - Maia Szalivitz
Fresh off the heels of that fantastic Wiebe, Mullins paper from last week, I can’t help but see issues of addiction through the MAID lens.
I wonder if you will do the same when reading through this incredible piece from The New York Times published this week. In Canada, what to do you think is the best way to help those who suffer with addiction?
Here is another except:
To recover, people with addiction need both new skills and an environment that provides better alternatives. This doesn’t mean rewarding people for bad behavior. Instead, we must recognize that compulsive drug use is far more often a response to a life where meaning and comfort appear out of reach than it is a selfish quest for excess pleasure.
Once again, I’m naively wishing unjust social conditions would just evaporate at the push of a button.
I can’t recommend this article enough. It’s beautifully written by someone with first-hand experience with severe addiction, and incorporates both scientific and philosophical concepts seamlessly.
Here’s an idea!
It was no surprise at all that so many of you also enjoyed the incredible Wiebe, Mullins article we shared last week. It got me thinking, why not ask for your favourite academic papers too?
Whether you're a student, researcher, or just an avid reader, I'd love to hear your recommendations. And if you know any young academic authors who could use some recognition, please send their papers my way! Let's use our subscriber base to help each other out and discover new voices in the academic community. There are so many hidden gems out there, please make yourselves known. :)
Wishing you a beautiful, warm weekend!
-Nipa
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