Addiction: The dance between concept and terms

Abstract

The paper discusses the relation between a concept of addiction and the terminology used for its communication, drawing on and analyzing historical citations from the Oxford English Dictionary. The history of words used in English illustrates that terms for a concept change over time, often by an existing word being repurposed. "Addiction" as a term existed prior to the contemporary concept, but with a descriptive meaning that did not carry the explanatory power intrinsic in the modern variant. So its use as a word for the modern conception of the addiction phenomenon was delayed well beyond the emergence of the concept. The experience in English of interplay between concept and terms is discussed in the context of two frames: of influence in both directions between medical and popular concepts and terms, and of cross-cultural variations in the concept and of terms for it.

Problem gambling—a Lacanian Real

“…The hidden and incomprehensible aspect of "addiction" has also been reported by others, for example by Heater and Segal (2014), Rantala andSulkunen (2011), andRoom et al (2015); these researchers did not see it as a Lacanian Real but as a "passion without a name" (a term borrowed from the French semiotician Eric Landowski, 2004), an "akrasia" (the state of acting against one's better judgment), and a "mysterious force," respectively.…”

“…If not, how is this lack of knowledge experienced and handled in households? Although the hidden and incomprehensible aspects of "addictions" have been reported in previous studies (e.g., Heather & Segal, 2015;Rantala & Sulkunen, 2011;Room et al, 2015), they have seldom been the subject of research. However, some explanations have been given.…”

The images theory of addiction

“…It reserves the heading "Substance Use Disorders" for substance-based behaviors, but introduces the category "Substance-related and Addictive Disorders" to cover gambling. Eventually other behavioral disorders, including obesity, may follow (Room, Hellman, & Stenius, 2015;Volkow & O'Brien, 2007).…”

Addiction: A highly successful, essentially contested concept

“…Room et al (2015) track the history of the general conceptual structure of addiction as an inner compulsion and differentiate it from several other terms describing excessive behaviors. They follow Harry Levine's (1978) groundbreaking notion on how the concept of addiction as uncontrollable compulsion became a part of 19th-century medical thought and point out that Levine did not differentiate between the concept and the diverse terms.…”

“…One important reason behind the concept's "use value" lies most likely in the fact that it can be adapted to so many different situations of contemporary life. The concept also integrates everyday talk with medical and scientific discourse (Room, Hellman, & Stenius, 2015;Valverde, 1998). The scientific sector is supposed to produce the most reliable, transparent, objective, and impersonal knowledge (Warshal, 2010), and as such the concept holds the credibility label of being "made by science.…”