Wild Hunger: The Primal Roots of Modern Addiction - Hardcover

Bruce Wilshire

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0847689670 ISBN 13: 9780847689675

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1998

Synopsis

Why is it that even amidst affluence and power, our culture is plagued by a variety of addictions? In this pioneering work, Bruce Wilshire searches for answers by giving serious attention to our genetic legacy from our hunter-gatherer ancestors as well as to the unique ways we adapt to our environment through the practice of science and the creation of art and cities. The work considers remedies for specific addictions―including drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling―suggesting that wilderness exploration, in the arts, myths, and ceremonies, can help us rediscover what it means to be human creatures. Bringing together the insights of philosophy, religion, cultural anthropology, behavioral biology, and the vast socio-medical literature on addiction, Wilshire ingeniously explores the limits of our adaptive capacity and the costs of depleting the natural regenerative functions of the body.

About this title

About the Author

Bruce W. Wilshire is professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. He is the author of numerous books, including Role Playing and Identity.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0847689670
• ISBN 13: 9780847689675
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 324