The essays in this volume offer the most thorough and up-to-date discussion available of the relationship between addiction and rationality. This is the only book-length treatment of the subject and includes contributions from philosophers, psychiatrists, neurobiologists, sociologists, and economists. The volume offers an up-to-date exposition of the neurophysiology of addiction, a critical examination of the Becker theory of rational addiction, an argument for a 'visceral theory of addiction', a discussion of compulsive gambling as a form of addiction, several discussions of George Ainslie's theory of hyperbolic discounting, analyses of social causes and policy implications, and an investigation of the problem of relapse.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Preface and acknowledgements; Contributors; 1. Introduction Jon Elster and Ole-Jørgen Skog; 2. Addiction and social interaction Karl Ove Moene; 3. Addiction, weakness of the will, and relapse Olav Gjelsvik; 4. The dangers of willpower George Ainslie; 5. The neurobiology of chemical addiction Eliot L. Gardner and James David; 6. To legalize or not to legalize: is that the question? Helge Waal; 7. Rationality, irrationality and addiction - notes on Becker's and Murphy's theory of addiction Ole-Jørgen Skog; 8. Gambling and addiction Jon Elster; 9. A visceral account of addiction George Loewenstein; 10. Epilogue: rationally coping with lapses from rationality Thomas Schelling; Index.