Becoming an Addict Means Coming Home : Narcotics Anonymous and the Genesis of the Global Drug Ethic
(2024) In Lund Dissertations in Social Work 70.- Abstract
- Based on an ethnographic study of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) in Sweden and a genealogical study of NA’s concept of addiction, this study examines why people who use drugs in ways that are considered inappropriate are simultaneously recognised as culpable and innocent.
The study introduces the concept of the global drug ethic to represent the principles about when, where, how, and who ought and ought not to use drugs that emerge from the UN drug conventions, which all countries in the world have either ratified, acceded to, or voluntarily submitted to, as well as other UN recommendations.
The study shows that one particular reading of the second narrative of Genesis in the Bible is fundamental to understanding the global drug... (More) - Based on an ethnographic study of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) in Sweden and a genealogical study of NA’s concept of addiction, this study examines why people who use drugs in ways that are considered inappropriate are simultaneously recognised as culpable and innocent.
The study introduces the concept of the global drug ethic to represent the principles about when, where, how, and who ought and ought not to use drugs that emerge from the UN drug conventions, which all countries in the world have either ratified, acceded to, or voluntarily submitted to, as well as other UN recommendations.
The study shows that one particular reading of the second narrative of Genesis in the Bible is fundamental to understanding the global drug ethic. Dating to the late fourth century, the reading was the work of St Augustine, a theologian and philosopher from Roman Africa who systematised and established the doctrine of original sin, which holds that humans are born with an incurable disease that causes them to desire to act in ways that are recognised as sinful and are responsible for withholding consent to act on those desires.
The study traces the emergence of the doctrine of original sin, showing how it developed and was modified by Martin Luther, René Descartes, and John Locke, and reversed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau; the importance of the doctrine for historical conceptualisations of inappropriate drug use and for the meaning of the concept of normality; and the implications of these changes for contemporary conceptualisations of people who use drugs in ways that are recognised as inappropriate.
The study shows that the NA fellowship combines two concepts of disease. The first concept is called disease and is consistent with St Augustine’s concept of disease, which makes no distinction between health and moral status and calls for complete abstinence from drug use. The second concept is called illness and is consistent with Rene’ Descartes’ concept of disease, which makes a distinction between health and moral status and holds that drug medication for physical and mental illness is consistent with recovery from addiction.
(Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Med utgångspunkt i en etnografisk studie av den ideella gemenskapen Anonyma Narkomaner (NA) i Sverige och en genealogisk analys av NA:s beroendebegrepp undersöker denna studie varför personer som använder droger på sätt som anses olämpliga samtidigt betraktas som både klandervärda och oskyldiga.
Studien använder begreppet den globala drogmoralen för att benämna de principer som styr när, var, hur och av vem droger bör eller inte bör användas, som uttrycks i FN:s narkotikakonventioner – vilka alla världens länder har ratificerat, anslutit sig till eller frivilligt implementerat – samt i andra rekommendationer från FN.
Studien hävdar att en specifik tolkning av Bibelns andra skapelseberättelse, utförd av teologen och... (More) - Med utgångspunkt i en etnografisk studie av den ideella gemenskapen Anonyma Narkomaner (NA) i Sverige och en genealogisk analys av NA:s beroendebegrepp undersöker denna studie varför personer som använder droger på sätt som anses olämpliga samtidigt betraktas som både klandervärda och oskyldiga.
Studien använder begreppet den globala drogmoralen för att benämna de principer som styr när, var, hur och av vem droger bör eller inte bör användas, som uttrycks i FN:s narkotikakonventioner – vilka alla världens länder har ratificerat, anslutit sig till eller frivilligt implementerat – samt i andra rekommendationer från FN.
Studien hävdar att en specifik tolkning av Bibelns andra skapelseberättelse, utförd av teologen och filosofen Sankt Augustinus i slutet av 300-talet, ligger till grund för den globala drogmoralen. Genom denna tolkning formulerade och etablerade Augustinus läran om arvsynden, som hävdar att människan föds med en obotlig sjukdom som tar sig uttryck i syndiga begär och att individen har ett moraliskt ansvar att neka samtycke till dessa begär.
Studien undersöker arvsyndslärans framväxt och belyser hur den utvecklades, modifierades och ifrågasattes av Martin Luther, René Descartes och John Locke, samt hur Jean-Jacques Rousseau vände den till en lära om människans naturliga godhet. Studien framhåller arvsyndslärans betydelse för Benjamin Rushs, Thomas Trotters och Magnus Huss teorier om olämpligt drickande, liksom för etableringen av normalitetsbegreppet inom vetenskapen på 1820-talet. Vidare visar studien hur dessa förändringar har format nutida föreställningar om personer som använder droger på sätt som betraktas som olämpliga.
Studien fokuserar särskilt på NA och visar att NA-gemenskapen integrerar två distinkta sjukdomsbegrepp. Det första begreppet, kallat disease i den engelskspråkiga NA-litteraturen, överensstämmer med Augustinus sjukdomsbegrepp. Detta begrepp gör ingen åtskillnad mellan hälsa och moralisk status och framhåller fullständig avhållsamhet från drogbruk som en nödvändig förutsättning för tillfrisknande från beroende. Det andra begreppet, benämnt illness, överensstämmer med Descartes’ sjukdomsbegrepp. Detta begrepp särskiljer hälsa från moralisk status och framhåller att användning av ordinerade narkotikaklassade läkemedel för behandling av fysiska och psykiska sjukdomar är förenligt med tillfrisknande från beroende.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3b990f99-419d-4a63-8188-75b50045a1b6
- author
- Karlsson, Petter LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Ekendahl Mats, Stockholm University
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-12
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Narcotics Anonymous, Augustine, Drogmoral, Moraliska fakta, Tillfrisknande, Narcotics Anonymous, Augustinus, Drug Ethic, Moral facts, Recovery
- in
- Lund Dissertations in Social Work
- volume
- 70
- edition
- 1
- pages
- 352 pages
- publisher
- Lunds universitet, Socialhögskolan
- defense location
- Sh128, Allhelgona kyrkogata 8, Lund
- defense date
- 2025-01-24 10:15:00
- ISSN
- 1650-3872
- 1650-3872
- ISBN
- 978-91-89604-77-3
- 978-91-89604-77-3
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3b990f99-419d-4a63-8188-75b50045a1b6
- date added to LUP
- 2024-12-18 13:05:14
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:44:30
@phdthesis{3b990f99-419d-4a63-8188-75b50045a1b6,
abstract = {{Based on an ethnographic study of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) in Sweden and a genealogical study of NA’s concept of addiction, this study examines why people who use drugs in ways that are considered inappropriate are simultaneously recognised as culpable and innocent.<br/><br/>The study introduces the concept of the global drug ethic to represent the principles about when, where, how, and who ought and ought not to use drugs that emerge from the UN drug conventions, which all countries in the world have either ratified, acceded to, or voluntarily submitted to, as well as other UN recommendations. <br/>The study shows that one particular reading of the second narrative of Genesis in the Bible is fundamental to understanding the global drug ethic. Dating to the late fourth century, the reading was the work of St Augustine, a theologian and philosopher from Roman Africa who systematised and established the doctrine of original sin, which holds that humans are born with an incurable disease that causes them to desire to act in ways that are recognised as sinful and are responsible for withholding consent to act on those desires.<br/><br/>The study traces the emergence of the doctrine of original sin, showing how it developed and was modified by Martin Luther, René Descartes, and John Locke, and reversed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau; the importance of the doctrine for historical conceptualisations of inappropriate drug use and for the meaning of the concept of normality; and the implications of these changes for contemporary conceptualisations of people who use drugs in ways that are recognised as inappropriate.<br/><br/>The study shows that the NA fellowship combines two concepts of disease. The first concept is called disease and is consistent with St Augustine’s concept of disease, which makes no distinction between health and moral status and calls for complete abstinence from drug use. The second concept is called illness and is consistent with Rene’ Descartes’ concept of disease, which makes a distinction between health and moral status and holds that drug medication for physical and mental illness is consistent with recovery from addiction.<br/>}},
author = {{Karlsson, Petter}},
isbn = {{978-91-89604-77-3}},
issn = {{1650-3872}},
keywords = {{Narcotics Anonymous; Augustine; Drogmoral; Moraliska fakta; Tillfrisknande; Narcotics Anonymous; Augustinus; Drug Ethic; Moral facts; Recovery}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Lunds universitet, Socialhögskolan}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Dissertations in Social Work}},
title = {{Becoming an Addict Means Coming Home : Narcotics Anonymous and the Genesis of the Global Drug Ethic}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/202605489/Karlsson_P_Becoming_An_Addict_Means_Coming_Home.pdf}},
volume = {{70}},
year = {{2024}},
}