In order to make clearer the distinction between two types of explanatory abstraction, either naturalist or phenomenological, this paper takes the example of addiction and substance abuse. Observing that sociological explanations of addiction are presently superseded by neuro-physiological ones, it strives to specify the role of an individualising and sociological explanation of the phenomenon. Such an explanation could focus on the exercising of judgment, will and liberty, and on self-evaluation, in a situation of social and organic constraints. Consequently, the paper propounds a model of the dependent choice, which underlines the usefulness of the phenomenological approach as a sociological method of explanation, without excluding other more structural approaches.