Introduction to Section III

Section III of the book includes chapters by authors who are unsure whether or not addiction is best viewed as a brain disease. There are six chapters, each presenting different reasons for being agnostic on this question. These chapters make an important intellectual contribution to the ideas presented in the book by establishing a set of issues that require serious consideration by those who either oppose or support the BDMA. They act as a reminder that those concerned with the science of addiction should be both mindful of the gaps in our evidence base, and alert to the fundamental philosophical and sociocultural issues that our discussions over the nature of addiction give rise to.