November 2016

Stage of  treatment may last from two weeks to several  months, depending upon the patient's condition.  It is interesting to note that almost without exception  near the close of this period the patient's  mental state is characterized by great optimism, the  inevitable good resolutions, and expressions of a  firm conviction that the cure is successful. It is  at this point that relatives are so often and illadvisedly  persuaded to remove the patient from  the hospital, with the almost certain result of his  starting to drink again.

0000

There is more to consciousness than the reflexive  character 'in this very experience ... ', or the apperception  therein of one's current experience. For part of  what makes an experience conscious - what brings it  to life-is its 'phenomenal' quality, 'quale'.  Qualia are traditionally defined as the 'raw feels' of  sensations, of experiences such as pains, tickles, dizziness,  etc. But this notion needs to be generalized. Not  only sensations, but all consciousness mental states  have qualia.

Dostoyevsky’s character above is rather an abstract model in our discourse about the addiction. Alcoholism as a conscious and totally will-controlled phenomenon is a rare thing, in my opinion. Although, I think drinking stories suggest an evident analog. We mean John O'Brien’s Leaving Las Vegas , a novel we spoke about earlier. Unlike its film version the novel itself shows two types of addicts: Ben willing to go his woeful way to the end and Sera trying to break with these vicious bonds. As a matter of fact, both the types can be generalized and even named somehow. Let’s find an analog to Ben and go back to Dostoyevsky. The Notes from the Underground main character phenomenon is in Russian tradition an insignificant individual. The society has pressed this individual to unbearable conditions.