To clarify what I mean by
"A legitamite survival drive doing it's job, urging him through the flames, to live, instead of the normal avoidence of flames or die."
The one survival drive, "jump through the flames"...over rode the normal fear of running through fire, because it was what he needed at THAT time to survive.
So knowing all the consequences of your drinking, or what might happen in the future is not going to stop the urges to do it. The Beast (the urges) are timeless, exist in the NOW.
As alcohol sparks off the "rewards" in the brain centres usually afforded to doing things that your survival depends upon, to your Beast, when it wants alcohol, it will always want it NOW and it will override other needs, that are not so immediately pressing (to IT)