Beginning With Fire
The Story of Addiction, Human Nature, and Evolution
Chapter Sketches
Chapter Three — From Anorexia to Zealotry
At the heart of addiction is the deep-seated conviction that control is the most adequate and satisfactory (and, eventually, compulsory) solution to the problem of self. This concept is itself almost elusively simple, but its manifestations are numberless. The scenario of enchantment plays out and presents itself in an uncountable myriad of ways. Some of these are drearily familiar, others unfamiliar, even bizarre. This chapter introduces a few basic constructs that make the process of addictive enchantment coherent and cogent, while acknowledging and accommodating the infinite variability that we find in real-world instances of addiction.