“By now the newcomer has probably arrived at the following conclusions: that his character defects, representing instincts gone astray, have been the primary cause of his drinking and his failure at life.” (Page 50, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions)
Absolutely, defects are the primary cause of my failure at life.
But my drinking? It’s no wonder the discourse in AA is confused. The Big Book, which is pretty consistent, should be taken to be authoritative, and the Twelve and Twelve should be taken with a pinch of salt at times.
By instincts, Bill is referring to the instincts for sex, security, and society, and he portrays these as natural, good biological impulses, which have been allowed too much sway. In other words, there is no badness per se, only an excess of or misdirection of goodness. That’s a biological and psychological explanation of immorality that actually leaves morality out of the question altogether; it leaves the ego and God out of the question altogether.
Bill’s furthermore asserting that character defects cause (alcoholic) drinking.
Is that correct?
Let’s test. Does morality correlate with alcoholic drinking?
No. When teenagers start drinking, it is clearly not the case that it is the immoral ones who drink too much, and those that do not drink too much are necessarily more moral than those who do not. There are plenty of people in AA who slip who are not remotely wicked or even particularly maladjusted. But they are alcoholic. Conversely, the world has countless people who are immoral who are not alcoholic. Someone in AA who has substantially cleared up their moral landscape and their life but who continues to rely on self not God will perhaps slip, and, when they slip, they do not discover that their alcoholism is now milder because they have been living more morally.
The reason why, when I drank, I drank too much is not because I was immoral. I did not return to drinking because I was immoral. I drink too much, apparently, because, when I drink, that’s how I drink. That’s the trait that places me in a separate category, as per The Doctor’s Opinion. And I returned to it because a very particular impulse arose and overrode the will, against which I had no defence. That’s an illness, not a question of being A Very Naughty Boy.
Morality is involved, but immorality is a function of self-will, self-will blocks the direction and protection of God, and that’s precisely what I need to block the imperious urge to drink.