Addiction is a continued craving for the performance of a rewarding activity despite adverse consequences. It is often a reaction to stress or specific sets of environmental cues. This is different from dependence, which is when cessation of a rewarding behavior causes withdrawal symptoms. For most societies, like with the current opioid epidemic in the US, addiction is an adversary which must be overcome. Must that always be the case? Is moral judgement necessary for identifying addiction? Would it be desirable to engineer an individual or a society without addiction? If not, what role should addiction play in that society? Is it possible to engineer such a society?
Addiction
