Beauty and the treatment of addiction
Date
2015
Authors
Czyszczewski, Justin, author
Kneller, Jane, advisor
Stallones, Lorann, committee member
Tropman, Elizabeth, committee member
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Abstract
Drug and alcohol addiction are highly destructive, reaping significant damage on society, on addicts, and on their families and friends. The past century has seen a vast increase in the treatment of addiction, but these methods have failure rates of 50% or greater. This work seeks an alternative approach to addiction treatment, using the concept of reflective aesthetic judgment presented by Immanuel Kant in the Critique of Judgment. This approach is justified by an examination of the experiences of addicts, working from the problem as it is understood to a possible solution. Because the problem is an inadequacy of willpower, cognitive treatment methods are unlikely to be successful. An aesthetic conception of treatment, which appeals to a common human aesthetic sense for the beautiful, offers a non-cognitive method that is universally communicable. This would appeal to people trapped in the isolated and alienated experience of addiction. The focus is a philosophical understanding of the mechanism of addiction, and identifying some of the necessary conditions for treatment of it. In light of this, suggestions are given for possible components of such treatment, such as art therapy, spiritual practices, and appreciation of nature.
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Rights Access
Subject
aesthetics
Kant
judgment
addiction