The Latin word dissolūtus , derived from dissolvĕre (which translates as “to dissolve” ), is the closest etymological antecedent of the term dissolute . This adjective can be used to describe someone who gives in to vices .
A dissolute person is therefore libertine and has disorderly behavior . It is common for him to act unrestrainedly, without ethical constraints and, in many cases, without obeying legal orders.
To understand what the idea of dissolute refers to, it is important to analyze the concept of vice . A vice can be a bad habit or a moral defect . This is also the name given to an excessive taste that leads to consuming or using something excessively.
The dissolute individual, in this context, does not resist vice: he is vicious. This can lead him to fall into alcoholism or into dependence on other types of drugs .
Let's say a man drinks three litres of wine a day and uses cocaine on a regular basis . Because of these addictions, he has been hospitalised on several occasions and has even been to various rehabilitation centres. However, he lacks the will and interest to recover, so he returns to his vices again and again. Given this reality, we can say that we are dealing with a dissolute subject who suffers from a serious illness.
Beyond drugs, it is common to refer to someone who does not respect the laws or rules as dissolute. A person who has already served several prison sentences for having committed multiple offenses and crimes may be described as having a dissolute life .
Although the first thing that comes to mind when we analyze a dissolute life are the vices or habits that the person carries out and the direct consequences that they have on him or her, one of the most serious characteristics of this is the repercussion that it can have on those around them. Friends and relatives of individuals who fall into drugs, for example, also suffer an emotional breakdown that often takes them by surprise and they do not know how to proceed to help them.
The first thing we must understand is that there are two opposing points of view regarding the person who gives in to a life of vice: there are those who accuse them of having made conscious decisions and those who believe that they too are victims of some mental or emotional problem. Of course, the first group is not characterized by its willingness to help the dissolute, but rather by demanding that they put their lives in order and stop causing harm to others. The second, on the other hand, can appeal to psychology to try to understand why they have reached this point and, in the best of cases, what they can do for them to help them get out.
Aside from these two extreme interpretations, it is important to note that this term is not used with a "positive" or "compassionate" connotation , but rather the opposite, to accuse or condemn someone who has "let themselves go." The case is different for words like "drug addict," for example, which, while they can also be used as insults, are preferred as adjectives descriptive of a health problem and with a therapeutic focus.
When we criticize other people's lives, especially those that at first glance do not resemble our own, it is not uncommon for us to act out of an unconscious fear that a part of ourselves will lead us down the same path. For example: people with a tendency toward violence are often the ones who condemn it the most, just as those who would like to spend all their savings but repress themselves criticize those who buy without thinking.