What Would Need to Be True
For position 1 (form without function):
Evidence that addiction lacks the treasure-acquisition mechanism at neurochemical/psychological level
Evidence distinguishing "false initiation" from true initiation
Clinical evidence of addiction patterns differing from genuine initiation at outcome level
For position 2 (consciousness as criterion):
Evidence that conscious engagement during ordeal determines outcome (conscious addiction work vs. unconscious addiction)
Evidence that initiatory practices that maintain consciousness succeed while those that abolish consciousness fail
Theoretical framework for "conscious ordeal" vs. "unconscious ordeal"
For position 3 (inversion):
Structural analysis showing addiction as systematic reversal of hero pattern
Evidence that addicts experience the inverted hero narrative (descent without return, promise without delivery)
Therapeutic implications of working with inversion rather than corruption