Arman Farahi-Far

We’ve probably all heard someone say, “I didn’t mean it, I was drunk,” after a night of questionable words or reckless actions. But is it really true? Are drunk words sober thoughts? The concept seems simple enough, when drunk, people lose touch with reason, letting the filters that usually mask their genuine feelings slip. However, at the same time can these unpolished and reckless words really be reflection of someone’s inner virtue? The blurred line between honesty and intoxication has fascinated philosophers whose ideas often trace back ancient societies and work where alcohol was treated as a path to truth.

Throughout history alcohol has been closely associated with honesty and truth-telling. Drinking alcohol was a large part of gatherings like their symposia where philosophers would join together to discuss politics, ethics and life over drinks. There was even a phrase “in vino veritas” which means in wine, there is truth which was pioneered by the Greek poet Alcaeus. They believed that drinking wine would loosen the tongue and give more genuine ideas.

Alcohol has been seen as this symbol of truth in different cultures throughout the years. The romans incorporated similar ideas of alcohol acting as a social lubricant to encourage openness and honesty. Similar to the Greek symposia people often were expected to speak more freely under alcohol in Roman gatherings. However again the honesty was often not pure and revealed emotions intensified by the intoxication. These ideas persisted into later eras like Shakespeare’s works where drunk fools, like Cassio in Othello, often reveal ideas that sober minds are too uncomfortable to say. These historical uses of alcohol suggest the ability that alcohol can expose hidden ideas but can also strip away restraint and self-awareness.

From these cultural roots of alcohol, the debate evolved into a philosophical question regarding the nature of honesty itself and revolves around authenticity and whether what we say actually represents who we are. Aristotle believed that truth depended on rationality in his book “Nicomachean ethics” where he argues that reason is what separates humans from animals.

Alcohol would remove the filter of rationality and prevent us from acting with reason. From his point of view the words of a drunk person are not honest as although they may be expressing emotion, they are lacking rationality. The B blocker 4 pints down in tap may feel his declaration of love to the bartender is honest and coming from their heart, but their honesty is coming from a place of chaos and is detached from logic and clarity which give words their truth.

Alternatively, Jean Paul-Sartre, a French existentialist, explored the same problem from a different angle. He argued that people deceive themselves of responsibility by hiding behind excuses or habits like alcohol. In his book ‘Being and nothingness’ he suggests an idea of “mauvaise foi” which means bad faith. Drunkenness seems like an escape of that responsibility and it’s very easy to say, “I was drunk” and claim that their action wasn’t earnest. However, Sartre would insist that this is still bad faith as although alcohol does unleash unregulated actions, it doesn’t create a new self. The intoxicated person still chooses to act and speak, and the alcohol simply removes decisions which normally protects one’s self-image. Sartre also suggested that alcohol can reveal the deeper and underlying emotions of people which they normally wouldn’t reveal but in a distorted exaggerated way. In this sense alcohol doesn’t reveal the truth but instead amplifies feelings whilst blurring self-awareness.

So, what does this all mean? It’s undoubtedly true that alcohol creates the opportunity for unsuppressed feelings to surface. However, it also floods the mind with distortion. Drunk words may come from a place of honesty but are delivered through a tainted point of view. Maybe a better way of phrasing it would be “drunk words are distorted thoughts” as they bring out amplified emotions and leave behind clarity and rationality. Aristotle tells us that honesty without logic isn’t virtuous, while Sartre warns us that using drunkenness to avoid responsibility is self-deception. etween these two ideas may lie the truth that alcohol doesn’t bring out honesty but exposes fragments of unreliable and blurred aspects of it.

After all, most of us have witnessed how alcohol can make someone confess or say something which they don’t remember and regret the next morning. These moments feel real at the time but in reality, are emotion without reason. Personally, I do not think alcohol brings out a true reflection of who we really are, but instead a version of ourselves acting without reason and is detached from rationality.

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