What is the relationship between addiction and moral responsibility?

We found that attributions of moral responsibility were lower when addiction was connected to diseases and disorders, such as dysfunctional processes in the brain, and greater when addiction was associated with agency and addictive behaviors.

How do drugs affect our morality?

This prospect is raised by a recent finding by researchers at University College London that normal people who take drugs commonly prescribed for the treatment of disease and dysfunction (Parkinson’s and depression) have their moral cognition altered – in a more selfish and a less selfish direction, respectively.

What is loss of control in addiction?

When theorists define and conceptualize “loss of control” as applied to addictive behavior, it typically refers to (i) the loss of the ability to regulate and control the behavior, (ii) the loss of ability to choose between a range of behavioral options, and/or (iii) the lack of resistance to prevent engagement in the …

Is one morally responsible for inflicting damage?

If a person is liable to a particular harm, then they are not wronged if the harm is imposed on them. On the Responsibility Account, what grounds a person’s liability to defensive harm is her moral responsibility for a threat of harm that is objectively unjustified.

Is drug use a moral issue?

Arguably, neither the use nor the misuse of mind altering substances is a moral problem, though both, and especially misuse, can cause practical problems. But if in addition their use is criminalised, those problems are exacerbated and the cost to society balloons.

Is addiction an ethical issue?

The ethical quandaries raised by addiction include the degree to which it can be said to compromise patient autonomy, patient access to appropriate medical care, and how the perceptions that physicians—often subconsciously—have of addicts affects treatment.

What are the main characteristics of drug addiction?

Symptoms

• An inability to stop.
• Changes in mood, appetite, and sleep.
• Continuing despite negative consequences.
• Denial.
• Engaging in risky behaviors.
• Feeling preoccupied with the substance or behavior.
• Legal and financial problems.
• Losing interest in other things you used to enjoy.

What is salience in addiction?

Incentive salience is a psychological mechanism that is able to influence behaviour through its effects of on attention and motivation, such as eliciting approach towards a specific goal. In the case of drug addiction (Figure 1.1) attention and motivation may become compulsively directed towards drug-seeking behaviour.

What do you mean by drug addiction?

What is drug addiction? Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences. † It is considered a brain disorder, because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control.