How then shall we live?

Many of the public intellectuals of the day are very good at observing and diagnosing problems in our society but not many are capable of providing a real alternative vision that is both capable of capturing the public imagination and concretely feasible. One of the tough problems we are facing is the rise of addictions and the suffering it brings to many Canadians.

At last year’s conference Dr. Quentin Genuis gave an amazing presentation on understanding addiction. It certainly reshaped the way I think about the topic. 

During his talk, Dr. Genuis drew on the work of Dr. Kent Dunnington whose book, Addictions and Virtue: Beyond the Models of Disease and Choice, greatly impacts his thinking. His presentation prompted me to buy the book and dig into it. I thought many of the ideas were worth grappling with further and that is why I am delighted to announce that at this year’s conference, Dr. Kent Dunnington will be our keynote speaker on Friday night. 

Dr. Dunnington is an associate professor of philosophy at Biola University. He teaches and writes in the areas of virtue ethics and theological ethics. Other research interests include addiction and criminal justice, inspired by his experiences teaching in prison.

In his book he states: My working hypothesis is that there is something philosophically and theologically profound about addictions but that standard and entrenched paradigms must be recast or overthrown in order to bring what is at stake into stark relief.”

He will explore in depth his philosophical analysis that creates a positive framework for viewing and treating addiction. 

He contends that “addiction offers a powerful response to the modern loss of transcendence.”

If you have patients who  struggle with addictions, this is a not to be missed session. It promises to be phenomenal and oriented toward hopeful outcomes first and foremost for the patients we seek to serve but also for ourselves in our own lives, too.

Conference registration is now open. To take advantage of the early bird pricing, please purchase your tickets and use the coupon code EARLYBIRD2024 for 20% off if you register by May 31st.