NCJ Number
112996
Date Published
1988
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The phrase 'I can't help myself' constitutes a new obscenity that permits individuals to avoid taking responsibility for their actions and is used to justify a variety of unacceptable and injurious behaviors.
Abstract
There is a growing tendency in the scientific community to view human beings as objects who are acted upon by internal and external forces over which they have no control. The medicalization of deviance leaves little room for choice or the concept of temptation. Solutions to problems are not seen as moral, but as medical or technical. Rapists plead not guilty on the grounds that they are victims of their testosterone levels. Alcoholics suffer from a 'disease' characterized by loss of control. The 'disinhibition thesis' suggests that alcohol results in a loss of control that causes aggression. Smokers are viewed as addicts who have lost control and require treatment to quit. Aggression stemming from anger also is attributed to a loss of control -- an inability to help oneself. Uncontrollable impulses or other factors beyond personal control are used to explain or justify criminal behavior. Drug addicts are viewed as victims of drugs that have overwhelmed their will. Even gambling and adultery have been characterized as diseases over which their sufferers have no control. The new obscenity must be challenged through a reliance on self-control, human willpower, and self-discipline. 28 references.