The above quote reflects a view I believe whole-heartedly. If we were to talk about addiction as a choice, then people would think of it as a choice, and furthermore, they would behave as if it were a choice. Unfortunately, the person who spoke this quote, Joe Biden, said it while introducing the Recognizing Addiction As A Disease Act Of 2007. It’s too bad that he doesn’t realize that the view of addiction as a disease is a self-defeating philosophy (also, it’s just plain inaccurate).
The very need for a law to declare addiction as a disease serves as proof that the disease theory is suspect. Passage of this bill would provide fuel for a classic appeal to authority: “look, the government says it’s a disease, so it must be true.”
"By changing the way we talk about addiction, we change the way people think about addiction"
