News Scrapbook 1985

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A 2 1985

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Eu . I 88 8 Rethinking the 'disease' of alcoholism_ By Tibor R. Machan W e ave al?seen the ads on TV : " Alcoholism is a disease and has nothing to do with weakness P eople prefer to regard their personality traits as fixed , so that when these make an impact on the world around

El Cajon, CA (San Diego Co-) Dally Californian (D- 100,271)

them, they remain blameless . purported alcoholics cast doubt. In a study it was found that when a group was given vodka (unbeknownst to its mem• bers), the results contradicted the stan- dard ideas about alcoholism. Fingarette makes the point clearly: "If it is true that an alcoholic can't stop drinking , at least after a first drink, then those who actually drank vodka - whether they knew it or not - should have continued uncontrollably to drink all of their pitcher." But "no one drank uncontrolla- bly," Fingarette found that there is nothing on the order of the predictability we find among victims of other illnesses with alcoholics. The fact is that among alco- holics there 1s notorious diversity. Very different explanations account for their drinking, as well as for their quitting. No pattern is evident. Here is Fingarette's conclusion about curing alcoholism: "There is no satisfactory evidence that any medical program for alcoholism contributed any more to improvement than any non-medical program. In fact it's doubtful whether any program, of whatever sort, adds significantly to rates of improvement. If they do, it's a modest effect, so modest as to be very difficult to identify. What we know is that a certain proportion of alcoholics will stop drinking spontaneously, or will limit their drinking independently of whether they enter a program or not ... " That alcoholism amounts to a disease

is undefended. It seems simply to be taken for granted. And one can speculate why this is so. It is always convenient for people to believe that destructive behavior is something they cannot help. People pre- fer to regard their personality traits as fixed, so that when these make an im- pact on the world around them, they re- main blameless. Perhaps in the end the " alcoholism is a disease" doctrine is one of the more visi- ble cor' sequences of the intellectual trend denying that people can be in con- trol of themselves, making all of us vie- times of circumstances. Here is Fing- arette agam : "The reality is that we are responsible for our way of life. Of course it's very , very hard for me to change my way of life. Still- I must take responsibility for what I have made of myself, for the way I live. If not I, who? But you, and I, and those who are alcoholics, are in the same human boat. We ought to have compas- sion for each other's troubles in changing our lives, even though in the end we must hold ourselves accountable for what we are. We should see the alcoholic not as a sick and defective being, but as a human being whose way of life is self-destruc- tive. The difficulty we face is stubborn human nature, not disease." Machan teaches philosophy at the - • si!J'._ of San Diego and is Senior Fellow of the Reason Foundation .

of will . Come to our hospital, call our numb r, foryourselfor a loved one, to be cured of alcoholism. You or your loved one suffer:; from a disease; come to us and we will apply our cure." Even m thb day of "truth m advertis- mg," there is little concern about whether these claims about alcoholism being a disease are actually true. One who has studied the matter, Pro- fessor Herbert Fmgarette of UC Santa Barhara, argues that, m fact, no disease of alcohohsm has ever been properly identified and diagnos d. That such a disease exists rests on the assertions of an ind1v1dual who conducted question- able tud1e In 1946, E M. Jellinek wrote the first paper espousing the disease idea and by 1960 he collected his views in a book, The Dise se Concept of Alcoholism . He ar- gued that alcoholism should not be looked upon as a moral problem: alco- holic suffered from an uncontrollable condition, s1m1lar to cancer or diabetes. Jellinek's method for determinmg all this left much to be desired. Subsequent studies have not managed to confirm any of his ·uggestJons. Fingarette observes, "The classic alcoholic's career (which Jellinek purported to uncover) is - like many other classics - a dramatic myth." One of Jellinek' contentions is that alcoholics cannot stop drinking once they have started. But experiments with I

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hr 1888

./UNIVER ITV CLASSES/ The ll!!_iversi_ty of San D1~e o ers classesa'iiliworkshopO" the University of the Thi~ e, a three- week program for persons age 55 and older seeking intellectual stimulation and physical activity. The classes begin Jan. 7 and continue through Jan. 24. Call 260-4585 for fees, location and to))ics:..--

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San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Magazine (Cir. M. 20,324)

San Diego, CA (San Diego co.) Senior World (Cir. M. 50,223)

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Magazine (Cir. M. 20,324)

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..Allen '• P. C. B f'.<1. 1888 /Classes offered at USD The A~~ol Process, How to Be an Intelligent Health Consumer and Learning to Live with Microcomputers are just three of the lectures to be offered during the winter session of the Universj1Ji.-of San Diego's (USb) University of the Third Age, a special pro- gram of lectures and physical exercise for persons over the • age of 55. The session begins January 7 and ends January 24 . Now in its seventh year, the Monday-Thursday program be- gins with an exercise class from 8 to 9 a.m. daily, followed by lectures at 10 and 11 :15 a .m. Faculty include several USD professors and other educators and professionals from the San Diego area. There are no ex- ams, papers or grades . Fee for the session is $50. Enrollees must provide their own transportation to the USD campus. For registration and more information, phone USD's Con- tinuing Education Office at 260-4585. /

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aig Higgs Craig Higgs, a R •.,,., ,-.c' t · igious old law firm of Higg Fletcher & Mack, has been\ur- sued by local Democrat powers to run for either lily Council or city ~Htie pres-

Richard Jluflmail-~~ Richard Huftnan ./ l

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Daily Transcript (Cir. D. 7,415)

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1..,,. 1888

/ * * * Aom Bolinger and Clay Lorin- sky have been named associates in the law firm of S~a~r & Ferguson. . Bolinger will work in real estate law and Lorinsky in civil litiga- tion. They are both 1984 graduates O~hool. ./ _/ *** / .

attorney. Higgs, son of old-line lawyer DeWitt "Dutch" Higgs (who served many years on the Uni- versity of California Board of Re- gents), did not take up the offers because he believed his presidency 0 _f the San Diego County Bar Asso- ciatmn would be better served if he remained politically neutral. But in December, he stepped down as bar president and now is ready and eager to enter the political fray. The 19 69 l,ISD Scbool of Law graduate is privately considering a run for office and greater involve- ment in behind-the-scenes political maneuvering.

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