Anonymous Philosopher
Recovery from a philosophical perspective, and
philosophical perspective on recovery
I am a philosopher in recovery–from addiction and from Complex-PTSD. I’ve started this page to tell my story, and to send thoughts about recovery out into the ether for anyone who might like to read them.
The Blog
I’ll try to keep this short…
Being a philosopher in recovery
As a philosopher, I’m accustomed to being misunderstood. When I’ve discussed or written in this space about “outside issues” or prayer in traditional AA meetings, a lot of responses have frankly missed my point. I am not seeking advice on how to deal with my life. I know that I can leave an AA meetingContinue reading “Being a philosopher in recovery”
“Outside issues”
Hanging on many an AA room’s wall is the Twelve Traditions. The Tenth may be the most frequently cited: Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. To understand what this means, one might consult Bill Wilson’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Wilson notesContinue reading ““Outside issues””
Belief and the infallible big book
“Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, p 164. Meetings in my local traditional AA groups end with “A Vision For You,” usually followed by the Lord’s Prayer. It doesn’t take a lot of critical thinking to notice that the two statements that beginContinue reading “Belief and the infallible big book”
Critique of AA Ideology
Sometimes the language and beliefs of “traditional AA” bug me. So I critically analyze them and come up with alternatives. I post the results here.