Addiction: A Philosophical Perspective argues that, contrary to currently prevailing discourse, addiction should be understood neither as a disease nor as a matter of choice, but as an irreducible emergent phenomenon. Employing a complex dynamic systems approach and philosophical methodology, this book analyzes addiction as an irreducible neurobiological, psychological developmental, environmental, and sociological phenomenon. The analysis of addiction that is offered provides a way of understanding the systematic miscommunication that occurs between addicts and their friends and family, as well as offering hope for affecting successful transitions out of addictive patterns and into more valuable and meaningful lives.