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Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics pp 1–10Cite as

Addiction

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Abstract

Addiction highlights the problematic question of how human desires and habits denude of rational control over harmful or potentially harmful behavior. It constitutes a chronic relapsing phenomenon typified by an overvaluation or compulsive use of a substance or the experience of an activity of interest. While this may bring about adverse personal, social, and legal consequences, such harms hardly foster a disinterest in the addictive factor. Although addiction is commonly seen as a pathological condition, its nuanced nature runs counter and contrary to this mainstream view. This entry seeks to elucidate the notion of addiction generally, as it pertains to the context of pharmaceuticals in particular, its neurobiological and sociocultural contexts as well as some of the attendant ethical issues.

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Acknowledgments

Michael Afolabi acknowledges the Global Initiative Center for Scientific Research & Development in providing logistical support and the conducive intellectual ambience in which the article was written.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Healthcare Ethics, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Michael O. S. Afolabi

  2. Global Initiative Center for Scientific Research & Development, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Michael O. S. Afolabi

  3. Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Solomon Umukoro

Authors
  1. Michael O. S. Afolabi
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  2. Solomon Umukoro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael O. S. Afolabi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Duquesne University Center for Healthcare Ethics, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Henk ten Have

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Afolabi, M.O., Umukoro, S. (2015). Addiction. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_6-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_6-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05544-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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