OPFINDELSEN AF ALKOHOLISME

Abstract

Dan Orbe: The Invention of Alcoholism

All societies are known to use intoxicants,

and alcohol is the most widely used

substance of them all. However, no direct

connection between the physical effects of

alcohol on the human organism and the

intoxicated behaviour of the users can be

established. Instead, the cultural context of

alcohol use seems to influence not only the

intoxicated behaviour, but also the problems

various societies experience with regard to

alcohol. Likewise, the definitions and

explanations of such problems appear to be

relative to certain cultures and to certain

periods of time. One such explanation

regards the excessive use of alcohol as a

disease which either develops as a result of

the use of alcohol over a long period of time

or as a combination of alcohol use and

certain unknown - perhaps hereditary -

factors in certain predisposed individuals.

The article describes how the

problematisation of excessive alcohol use

through this type of explanations has

developed since the late 18th century as part

of a process in which natural science

gradually redefined the understanding of

human behaviour, and societal changes in

North America and Europe created new

moral and ethical standards