February 10, 2015
We are all addicted to dopamine (dopamine is the main neurotransmitter active in our brains reward system - see the ‘mesolimbic dopamine system’ for more information), and we do whatever is possible to get a hit. We; shoot opiates, jump of cliffs, eat too much food, have sex, gamble away our savings, go to university, train many hours a day for years on end, buy new clothes, surf facebook, give money to charity, steal and murder, laugh… Are all these addictions created equal? In philosophy there is a distinction between pleasure and fulfillment, but the brain makes no such moral distinction, both stimulate the same rewards system. Fulfillment may give longer lasting stimulation to the rewards system, while pleasure acts on a shorter time scale, but does this make it better?
What is right and wrong when we are talking about addictive products? Is it acceptable if a product is good for you and addictive? Is it criminal if you design a product that is addictive and has negative consequences for the buyer? If a product is over some threshold of addictiveness then do we really have a choice in using it? Is it a violation of our free will?