A powerful and important exploration of how addiction functions on social, psychological and biological levels, integrated with the experience of being an addict, from an acclaimed philosopher and former addict. What is addiction? Theories about what kind of thing addiction is are sharply divided between those who see it purely as a brain disorder, and those who conceive of it in psychological and social terms. Owen Flanagan, an acclaimed philosopher of mind and ethics, offers a state-of-the-art assessment of addiction science and proposes a new ecumenical model for understanding and explaining substance addiction. Flanagan has first-hand knowledge of what it is like to be an addict. That experience, along with his wide-ranging knowledge of the philosophy of mind, psychology, neuroscience, and the ethics and politics of addiction, informs this important and novel work. He pairs the sciences that study addiction with a sophisticated view of the consciousness-brain/body relation to make his core argument: that substance addictions comprise a heterogeneous set of "psychobiosocial" behavioral disorders. He explains that substance addictions do not have one set of causes, such as self-medication or social dislocation, and they do not have one neural profile, such as a dysfunction in dopamine system. Some addictions are fun and experimentation gone awry. Flanagan reveals addiction to be a heterogeneous set of disorders, which are picked out by multifarious cultural, social, psychological, and neural features. Flanagan explores the ways addicts sensibly insist on their own responsibility to undo addiction, as well as ways in which shame for addiction can be leveraged into healing. He insists on the collective shame we all bear for our indifference to many of the psychological and social causes of addiction and explores the implications of this new integrated paradigm for practices of harm reduction and treatment. Flanagan's powerful new book upends longstanding conventional thinking and points the way to new ways of understanding and treating addiction.

A fascinating and thought-provoking personal and philosophical exploration of addiction and recovery and the complex questions they raise for all of us. * Maia Szalavitz, Contributing Opinion Writer, New York Times, Scientific American, VICE, Wired, New York Times bestselling author of Unbroken Brain. *
Through his deeply informed, creative, and wise work, Owen Flanagan has long made profound contributions to the philosophy of addiction, in no small part thanks to his admirable disclosure of his own struggles. Over the years, he has been a source of both inspiration and clarity for me and, undoubtedly, many others. In this elegant and clear book, he presents a compelling case for an integrative theory of substance addiction, one that provides valuable insights for anyone seeking to understand this complex phenomenon. It deserves to be a landmark in the study of addiction. * Carl Erik Fisher, M.D., Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University, author of The Urge: Our History of Addiction *
A brilliant and unparalleled synthesis of the science, philosophy, and first-person phenomenology of addiction. Owen Flanagan is a distinguished philosopher who has spent a lifetime studying morality and the mind-brain sciences-and he is also an ex-addict. This book is beyond excellent. It is wise. Everyone who wants to understand addiction must read it. * Hanna Pickard, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University *
What Is It Like to Be an Addict?, the product of personal experience and sober analysis, is a unique and essential hybrid. * Sally Satel, The Wall Street Journal *
Despite its modest size, this is a work of large ambition and broad range. * Daniel Akst, Reason *
Owen Flanagan is an adventurous intellectual. * Crispin Sartwell, Times Literary Supplement *
It is a rare book that combines rigorous argument, scientific fluency, and broad accessibility, but Owen Flanagan has managed that trifecta in his new monograph on the philosophy and science of addictions. What is it Like to Be an Addict? should serve as a standard reference-point for philosophers interested in the health sciences moving forward, as it clarifies and refines many of the basic questions in these fields. It is also a book that may be read with profit by anyone with even a passing interest in the science or ethics of addiction. Flanagan aims "to explain what substance addictions... * Kevin Harrelson, Notre Dame Philosophical Review *
It is a rare book that combines rigorous argument, scientific fluency, and broad accessibility, but Owen Flanagan has managed that trifecta in his new monograph on the philosophy and science of addictions. * Kevin J. Harrelson, Notre Dame Philosophical Review *

Owen Flanagan is an internationally acclaimed philosopher of mind, consciousness, ethics, and comparative philosophy and author of 12 books translated into many languages. He has lectured on every continent except Antarctica, which he has nonetheless visited. Flanagan taught for 16 years at Wellesley College and for 30 years at Duke University.