Recalcitrant Desires in Addiction

Abstract

Abstract This paper argues that the crucial feature of the drug-related desires experienced by addicted agents is not that they “push” the agent with a force she cannot oppose, but that they are not easily undermined by things that normally have the ability to undermine desires—in other words, that they are extraordinarily recalcitrant. As a result, the disposition to experience these desires is very persistent over the long-term, manifesting itself in particular episodes of wanting to use drugs that recur with great frequency. Both the persistence and the recurrence of these desires, it is argued, contribute to a diminished ability to respond to relevant reasons that speak against drug use.