Drugs and the Technology of Agency
Rami H. Gabriel
February 23, 2023 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197513583.003.0008 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the biomedical model of mind, arising from positivist, pragmatist, and mechanical uses of empirical psychology, has consequences for agency and discourse, and proposes that integrating biomedical and psychodynamic models through Neuropsychoanalysis, as illustrated in an analysis of alcohol addiction, can apply sociocultural constraints to empirical psychology. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter explores the consequences of adopting a biomedical model of mind for notions of agency and discourse. The biomedical model of mind is the consequence of positivist, pragmatist, and mechanical uses of empirical psychology. The pharmacological use of psychology is elaborated through a description of the various uses of drugs as technological tools for pathology and recreation. These are contrasted with the therapeutic spiritual use of entheogens. The second part of the chapter is an illustrative example of the author’s positive project of applying sociocultural constraints to empirical psychology. Drawing from the interdisciplinary field of Neuropsychoanalysis, this analysis of alcohol addiction is an attempt to integrate biomedical and psychodynamic models.