Drugs and art, art and drugs. Is drug use and addiction a necessary evil for the artist? The myth that the best modern music is the result of drug use pervades our culture despite some important weaknesses in this assumption. Let’s examine some critical issues in this debate.
Tag: music
Music, Addiction, And Imaginary Diseases
If we are to believe the argument that addiction is a disease, then we should also believe that the ability to play improvised jazz, conduct an orchestra, or freestyle rap is a disease. Indeed, if mere measurements of brain activity are sufficient proof of disease, then anything and everything we do is caused by disease – the term loses all relevance, and our society gets further and further away from real solutions to behavioral problems. Being an expert musician is not a diseased state – nor is being an expert drug user.