- 25 Apr 2017 13:16
#14800062
Alcoholism - an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency.
Some qualified medical experts have said that alcoholism is a disease. But others contend that it is a behavioral problem rooted in choice. On debate.org an online audience voted on whether or not alcoholism was a disease. The result was divided right down the middle. 50% said yes and 50% said no. It is fair to say that there is no clear consensus.
I want to give an argument for why I think alcoholism is not a disease. A key component to any disease is that it is an abnormal function within the body. I do not believe that alcoholism is an abnormal function, and here's why: the reason for why a person might have an addiction to something is because that thing, whatever it may be, is something that the person really, really enjoys doing. It is not abnormal behavior to want more and more of something that gives you a lot of joy and pleasure. It is perfectly normal to desire alcohol. What would be abnormal would be to desire something that you didn't enjoy. It is not the alcoholic who has an ill mind. It is the nature of the substance that causes people to crave it.
Some qualified medical experts have said that alcoholism is a disease. But others contend that it is a behavioral problem rooted in choice. On debate.org an online audience voted on whether or not alcoholism was a disease. The result was divided right down the middle. 50% said yes and 50% said no. It is fair to say that there is no clear consensus.
I want to give an argument for why I think alcoholism is not a disease. A key component to any disease is that it is an abnormal function within the body. I do not believe that alcoholism is an abnormal function, and here's why: the reason for why a person might have an addiction to something is because that thing, whatever it may be, is something that the person really, really enjoys doing. It is not abnormal behavior to want more and more of something that gives you a lot of joy and pleasure. It is perfectly normal to desire alcohol. What would be abnormal would be to desire something that you didn't enjoy. It is not the alcoholic who has an ill mind. It is the nature of the substance that causes people to crave it.