We are literally programmed to think down given pathways--many of them very early in our lives--and enduringly over the whole of our lives. That's part of what the OP is describing.
And, that's part of why it's so difficult to change someone's mind from liberal to conservative.
And it's getting worse. Now there's technology that allows the government to program our thinking more heavy-handedly and to more refined, detailed degrees.
And that doesn't even get into demonic influence.
There's reasons the Bible insists that we not be unfittingly judgmental in critical-judgment kinds of ways--because we have not walked in their shoes--with all the forces channeling their thoughts and actions toward certain specifics.
Yes, we still have a measure of "free-will." But that is diminishing all the time.
And RAD diminishes a huge chunk of it early on.
If you have never had a compulsive, habitual thought pattern, PTL. However, I'm 100% skeptical that you have not had such a thought pattern.
None of us are as totally free in our wills as we'd like to think.
Bertrand Russel bragged more than 70 years ago, IIRC, that eventually, the oligarchy would control individuals and the population as a whole through very sophisticated mass, group and media based psychological techniques. They are already almost fully there.
Just witness the sheeple's responses to the lies of the mass media.
You stated.....”We are literally ‘programmed to think’ down given pathways—many of them very early in our lives—and enduringly over the whole of our lives.”...
We are certainly ‘influenced’ but taking it to the degree of being ‘programmed’ is far fetched at best when it comes to ‘willingly’ taking in to the body whatever substance of ones choice which leads to addictions.
... talking about the brain..... we see the world via the brain...programming as you’re implyiing is ‘brainwashing’.....the healthy brain connections are already in place at birth..... obvious brainwashing is possible when it comes to controlling people as we see in the muslim world and NKorea.....where they are not ‘free’ to choose.
But that is very different than saying a person becomes addicted because he’s programmed so.......rather he destroys the pathways in his brain by being an addict.
Remarkably the brain has an amazing ability to heal if given the time to do so as well as those pathways which have been harmed.......in other cases the damage is so severe little amount of healing can occur.
But I totally disagree peoples brain pathways are programed ‘for addiction’.....that’s pure baloney.