The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-03-09
THE
PHILOSOPHY OF
DRUNKENNESS

Drunkenness is in many cases a
vice, but with the large majority it
is primarily a psychological disease.
or a disease of the mind.
As a disease of the mind il is
functional and comprises three alb
normal conditions: CD paralysis
of the inhibitory power Of the will:
CD a temporary amnesia; CD n
temporary affective and ineffective
modification of the personality.
Drunkenness is a species of sim
pie insanity; the drunkard is insane
on one subject-drink. The mind
of the drunkard is unbalanced, be-
cause he thinks nothing but whisky,
and he cannot think anything else.
He drinks whisky because he thinks
whisky. Stop his thinking whisky,
or change the current of his
thoughts, and he will stop drinking
it, and he never will stop drinking
whisky until he stops thinking
about it.
While the general effects of alco-
holic liquors on individuals are
various, they may be generalized un-
der two heads: CD being under the
influence of liquor; (2) being
drunk A person is under the in
huence when he has taken one
drink. The effect continues, if he
keeps on drinking, until he is
drunk.
A person may be drunk in two
ways: Cd mentally drunk in the
hao1l. fON ,b,-eicoll1- (drupI- in tho
legs). A person is drunk mentally
when his recollection is paralyZed,
or when temporary amnesia ensues.
He is drunk physically whenever
muscular coordination is impaired,
or whenever he experiences a paresis
or partial paralysis of a group of
muscles-generally those of the low
er extremities. A person can be
drunk physically and not mentally,
and vice versa, or he can be drunk
both physically and mentally at the
same time.
The causes of drunkenness are:
(a) direct and (b) indirect. There
is only one direct cause-alcohol
The indirect causes are: (a) princi-
pal, (b) auxiliary.
The principal indirect causes are:
(a) constitution, (b) depressed
states of the system, (c) emotional
state of the system, as joy
The auxiliary causes are: (a)
money, (b) customs of sociability,
(c) association.
By constitution is meant that or
ganization of person which makes
him susceptible or unsusceptible to
the action of alcohol. 1t is a law
that a poison acts with different
effects, not only on animals of diff
ferent genera and species, but also
on individuals of the relative species.
Alcohol as a poison is not an ex-
ception to this law. Some persons
are very susceptible to the power of
alcohol, others quite to the oppo-
site. AS a general rule, periodical
drunkards are most susceptible, one
drink with the larger majority of
them being sufficient to cause them
70 lose all control of themselves.
In other words, one drink will total
ly paralyZe the inhibitory power of
their will.
A depressed state of the system
is probably one of the most fre.
quent of the auxiliary causes. Every
person at times experiences a de-
pression-a weakness. This depres-
sion is a circumstance which sug-
gests stimulation or a desire for
something that would brace up the
entire system. A person who knows
no remedy can think of none; but
with the drinker it is entirely differ
ent, he knows a remedy. His de-
pressed state of feeling is a circum-
stance which suggests his remedy,
whisky, and he begins to think
whisky, and he drinks whisky.
When the effect of the whisky be-
gins TO die out a renewed and in
creased depression occurs, and the
remedy, whisky is taken The op-
posite auxiliary causes are so well
renowned that they need no COM
ment.
Drunkards are of two kinds, con-
tinuOus and periodic. Other classes
might be given, and they can be re-
duced to these two. The continuous
is one who drinks to excess every
time he has an opportunity. He
is never sick from the effects of
drinking. The periodic yacillates
between two extremes. He is eth
er teetotaler or a drunkard. The
periodic drinker, when once he starts
to drink, never stops until sickness
overtakes and overpowers him. His
spree ends in spell of sickness. II
is this sickness that constitutes the
different factions of periodic and
continuous drinkers.
The sickness experienced by the
periodic drinker is a circumstance
sufficiently powerful to change the
current of his thoughts, whisky. He
has no other thoughts. Day and
night, night and day, he thinks
whisky, and drinks it, Sickness
overtakes him, and now he thinks
about recovery. This thought is far
more powerful than that of drink