The Moral Question of Addiction: An African Philosophical Perspective”, in Addiction in South and East Africa: Interdisciplinary Approaches

Abstract

Different studies have presented addiction as a moral disorder or a physical disorder. As a moral disorder, addiction is expressed as an excessive appetitive urge or loss of self-control; and as a physical disorder, it is described as a disease, an imbalance of the central nervous system, or a neurological problem. In search of a better understanding of addiction, this chapter surveys African metaphysics and social philosophy, which is the basis of African ethics. This philosophy lays emphasis on the ontological, communal, and individual responsibility principles. The hypothesis is that because addiction takes place in the context of societies, the ontological constitution of an individual, the communal context, and the choices made by the individual are responsible for the prevalence of addiction in society.