Addiction, identity, morality

Journal article

Background: Recent literature on addiction and judgments about the characteristics of agents has focused on the implications of adopting a ‘brain disease’ model versus a ‘moral weakness’ model of addiction. Typically, such judgments have to do with what sorts of capacities the agent has (e.g., free will, agency). Much less work, however, has been done on the relationship between addiction and judgments about the agent’s identity, including whether or to what extent an individual is seen as the same person after becoming addicted. Methods: We conducted a series of experiments (total N = 2,984) to assess lay attitudes concerning addiction and personal identity, systematically manipulating characteristics of the agent and the effects of the drug of addiction as described in vignettes. Conclusions: In Study 1, we found that US participants judge the addicted agent to be far closer to ‘a completely different person’ (compared to the pre-addicted agent) than ‘completely the same person’ given only a minimalist description of becoming addicted. In Studies 2-5, designed to assess the intuitive basis for this result, we find that lay judgments of altered identity as a result of addiction are driven primarily by perceived negative changes in the moral character of addicted persons, who are seen as having deviated from their good true selves.

Authors: Earp, B; Skorburg, J; Everett, J; Savulescu, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Journal: AJOB Empirical Bioethics
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 136-153
• Publication date: 2019-04-23
• Acceptance date: 2018-11-14
• DOI: 10.1080/23294515.2019.1590480
• EISSN: 2329-4523
• ISSN: 2329-4515
• Keywords: personal identity; addiction; Phineas Gage Effect; essential moral self; true self