#1148 Owen Flanagan: What Is It Like to Be an Addict?

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Sep 11, 2025

Owen Flanagan, a philosophy professor emeritus at Duke University, shares deep insights on addiction, drawing from his experience with alcoholism and benzodiazepines. He discusses the stigma surrounding addiction and its impact on recovery. Flanagan explores subjective realism, highlighting personal narratives and their importance in understanding addiction. He categorizes addicts as willing, unwilling, or resigned, questioning the balance of agency in recovery strategies. Innovative harm reduction approaches, like Amsterdam's Rainbow Group, offer hope and dignity to those struggling with addiction.

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INSIGHT

Culture Shapes Addiction Patterns

Social norms and joking about drinking influence addiction rates across cultures and groups.
Less stigma for teenage experimentation coexists with parental attempts to set boundaries.

ADVICE

Use Mutual‑Help And Therapy

Many people recover and treatments like mutual-help groups equal or outperform paid therapies.
Seek social help (AA/NA) and evidence-based therapies; about half improve or moderate use.

INSIGHT

Value Of Addicts' First‑Person Reports

Addicts' subjective reports reveal internal turmoil—craving, shame, guilt—that outsiders often miss.
First-person testimony refines scientific models and clarifies why addicts act against their plans.

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Dr. Owen Flanagan is James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Duke University. His work is in philosophy of mind and psychiatry, ethics, moral psychology, and cross-cultural philosophy. He is the author of several books, including What Is It Like to Be an Addict?: Understanding Substance Abuse.

In this episode, we focus on What Is It Like to Be an Addict? We first discuss what addiction is, and the concepts of disease, disorder, and dysfunction. We talk about social stigma and whether it works in fighting against addiction. We discuss whether addicts can stop being addicts. We talk about subjective realism, and why a subjective account of addiction is important. We also talk about willing, unwilling, and resigned addicts, and whether addicts are responsible for their own behavior. Finally, we talk about treatments for addiction.

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