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To what extent is drug addiction voluntary? In episode 162 of Overthink, Ellie and David chat with philosopher Hanna Pickard about her book, What Would You Do Alone in a Cage with Nothing but Cocaine? A Philosophy of Addiction. They discuss how the “broken brain model” of addiction emerged to combat the moral model of addiction and explore the consequences of both of these models. What drives some people into addiction? What does it mean to say that addiction is a brain disease? How should responsibility and blame fit into our understanding of this condition? And how do we identify when somebody’s patterns of drug use have crossed the threshold into addiction? In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts think about the temporality of addiction and what it means to hold an “addict identity.”Works Discussed: Alan Leshner, “Addiction Is a Brain Disease, and It Matters”Gabor Maté, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with AddictionHanna Pickard,  What Would You Do Alone in a Cage with Nothing but Cocaine? A Philosophy of Addiction

Highlight: Consequences of the Broken Brain Model

* Hanna Pickard borrows a phase from sociologist Nick Haslam for describing the broken brain model: it’s a mixed blessing in terms of its practical effects

* On the positive side, it’s increased public support for research and treatment of drug addiction

* On the negative side, the broken brain model:

* Increased stigma because it associates people with addiction with dangerousness and difference

* Increased internalized stigma among those with addiction; they feel like something is wrong with them and their brain

* As a result, it can impede problem recognition and recovery

* If your addiction means your brain is broken, you may be pushed to denial, thus not seek help or treatment

* If you believe your brain is broken, then you can’t fix it