Abstract

With Latin as its semantic pedigree, ‘addiction’ derives from addictio, to give over, to surrender. If I am addicted to something, then I am given over to it. I surrender to it.Many good things in life are well worth giving oneself over to. I surrender myself to love for my family, a passion for philosophy, the awesome beauties of Mother Nature, the intricacies of sonnets by Shakespeare, and the warmth of reminiscing about shared histories with old friends.Of course, we persons have to be careful about both the subjects or foci and the styles or manners of our acts of surrender. ‘Addiction’ itself is a medical or mental health term with the connotation partly of, as Jesse Summers aptly points out, an addict’s.