Philosopher Ross Reed, Ph.D., refers to an eclectic array of thinkers in Love and Death: an Existential Theory of Addiction in particular, existential philosophers Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980). According to Dr. Reed, addiction is usually the result of existential or life conditions rather than underlying physiological problems. Therefore, it may involve not only drugs or alcohol but also relationships, belief systems, activities, and even emotional states. Anything that can serve to deflect one's consciousness from reflectively apprehending the task of becoming oneself can serve as an object of addiction. If the object is another person, one might ask whether in fact addiction can masquerade as love.

Is it possible to believe that you are in love with someone when in fact you are merely addicted to him or her? In this creative and provocative work, Reed argues that Sartre's theory of love is in fact a theory of addiction.