" What was Russian author Leo Tolstoy's explanation why people consume huge quantities of alcoholic beverages and copious narcotic drugs ? " [ GOOGLE AI search result }

[ "What was Russian author Leo Tolstoy's explanation why people consume huge quantities of alcoholic beverages and copious narcotic drugs? " ] October 18, 2026 In his 1890 essay, "Why Do Men Stupefy Themselves?" (also translated as "Why Do People Stupefy Themselves?"), Russian author Leo Tolstoy explained that people consume alcohol, tobacco, and narcotic drugs not for pleasure, taste, or recreation, but to intentionally stupefy their brains and silence their moral conscience. Tolstoy argued that human life consists of two primary activities: bringing one's actions into harmony with conscience, or hiding from the indications of conscience to continue living an immoral life. He viewed intoxicating substances as a psychological tool used to achieve the latter. His explanation breaks down into several key psychological and societal mechanisms: 1. Dulling the "Organ of Attention" (Conscience) Tolstoy asserted that people use intoxicants—ranging from wine and beer to opium, hashish, morphine, and tobacco—to temporarily paralyze the brain's capacity for ethical awareness. By poisoning the brain, a person blinds what he called the "organ of attention," effectively numbing the inner friction that occurs when their actions do not align with their moral values. 2. A Pre-emptive or Post-incident Shield against Shame According to Tolstoy, the suppression of conscience operates in two distinct temporal ways: • Before an act: A sober person is naturally restrained by feelings of shame or moral rightness from committing misdeeds (such as stealing, killing, or engaging in corrupt behavior). Dulling the senses allows them to cross those moral boundaries. • After an act: If a person has already committed an act contrary to their conscience, they consume substances to induce forgetfulness, drown out guilt, and escape the psychological weight of their shame. 3. Rejecting "Pleasure" or "Gaiety" as the Real Reason Tolstoy dismissed the common social excuses that people drink or smoke because "everybody does it," because "it is healthy," or "for gaiety's sake". He argued that if pleasure or taste were the true motives, people would not seek out substances that alter their cognitive faculties or consume them to the point of sickness. The universal spread of different substances across both "savage and civilized" societies proved to him that the underlying demand was a desperate, cross-cultural need to self-stupefy. 4. The Danger of "Moderate" Consumption Crucially, Tolstoy argued that the most destructive impact does not come from the occasional heavy binge, but from continuous, moderate use. He claimed that regular social habits—like having a glass of wine or smoking a cigarette—keep the ruling, cultured, and professional classes in a permanent state of mild intellectual debasement. Because political leaders, artists, and scientists frequently operate while "not sober," society repeatedly engages in massive, irrational collective behaviors, such as geopolitical posturing and preparations for war. If you would like, I can provide specific historical quotes from this essay illustrating how he applies this theory to specific professions, or explore his personal views on how he believed humanity could emancipate itself from this cycle. Let me know what you would like to look into next.