Pharmacosophrosyne Revisited: Drug Use and Virtue Ethics

In a 1959 article, John C. Ford, SJ (1902–1989), proposed the existence of a new virtue to regulate recreational drug use which he names “pharmacosophrosyne.” This article analyzes the soundness of Ford's proposal and extends it by providing a mereological analysis of how pharmacosophrosyne relates to the virtues of temperance and sobriety. It then shows how understanding both pharmacosophrosyne and sobriety can inform a moral evaluation of recreational drug use.