Phenomenology of Addiction

International Conference 

4th June 2024 

In a recent interview Ireland’s Minister of State at the department of Health highlighted the significance of focusing on the lived experience of drug users. Emphasis on lived experience is nowadays considered as the state of art in psychopathology. Not surprisingly to those familiar with the history of philosophy, such an emphasis is most often linked to the philosophical movement of phenomenology. This hybrid conference brings together philosophers and researchers working on addiction to discuss different ways in which phenomenology can help us shed light upon and reach a better understanding of addiction. 

The conference has the following 4 objectives:

1. To examine the extent to which phenomenology can function as a theoretical framework that shifts our assumptions about addictive behaviour.
2. To reconsider the categories that have been used historically to capture “pathological” or “deviant” behaviours of people with addictions.
3. To develop the conceptual tools that can help us understand how addicted persons relate to the world, others and their own body. 
4. To discuss healing strategies and how important it is to cultivate new ways of relating to oneself, others and the world in the process of recovery.