Rock and Roll From Drugs to Soul: A Philosophical Hermeneutic Study of the Transformational Experience of Addiction

Abstract

This study will investigate the transformational experience brought on by the illness of heroin addiction through the lens of depth psychology. Using a philosophical hermeneutic research methodology, combined with an alchemical hermeneutic method, this study will endeavor to illuminate the soulful nature of the illness that leads to transformation. A philosophical hermeneutic research methodology was chosen because it is concerned with experience expressed through text (van Manen, 2016). Literature, such as the poetry to be studied in this research, is a rich source of lived experience that is particularly important to this study. The artist enables relatedness as “we live his or her feelings and actions without having to act it out ourselves” (van Manen, 2016, p. 70). The stories portrayed in the chosen writings involve us in a personal way, invite an element of vivid imagery, and enable us to relate empathically by creating a space for us to wonder into possible worlds.

The current dominant paradigm regarding treatment of substance use disorders attempts to understand addiction as a medical ailment, occurring solely in the brain (Leshner, 2001). The proposed research study does not deny that addiction occurs in the body. Research that has identified how drugs condition and change the brain is valuable for understanding the disorder and informing treatment modalities (Courtney et al. 2016; Volkow, 2018). However, addiction is more complex than its effects on the body and involves intangible aspects of the human experience (Brinton-Perera, 2001).