Learning and using AVRT( Additive Voice Recognition Technique, great thread on these ideas here on SR in the Secular recovery forum and subforums) gave me a very useful perspective on the AV.
I don't view It as evil or irrational. I see It as the way the desire for alcohol, the Beast in AVRT tries to hijack my higher functioning self into indulging the base desire.
It in and of itself isn't irrational, it is a product of what makes us tick. It is a rogue survival drive gone haywire. Like hunger , thirst or a sex drive It sends signals to influence our thinking about taking action , the 'feeling' of being thirsty is how evolution makes sure to keep us hydrated, other ' feelings' likewise direct our attention or try and influence our decision making process.
They( and It) register a lack of the thing they are geared to making sure we have is met, based on the assumption their functioning and getting us to attain it are important for our survival.
The hardwired mechanisms aren't irrational, they just do what they are 'supposed' to do maybe too well, but other 'parts' of our functioning the kind from our 'higher' or more rational selves, are there too and can/should be used
as the final arbiter, yeah ?
You may feel hungry on a road trip at say mile marker 10 but decide getting more miles into the trip before eating is more worthwhile " thanks belly , I hear ya, but we'll wait a little" You don't necessarily stop 'feeling' hungry , you just decide to not allow the immediate sensation dictate your actions to instant attainment.
Other times you maybe into a strenuous project on a sunny day and loose track of time concentrating on the task, you realize you feel thirsty and decide that it would be a good idea to hydrate.
The Beast , in AVRT, is just like that it is the desire for alcohol. IT was introduced/born at some point by experiencing the sensation of intoxication and assigning itself the task of 'making sure to get more of that'.
It 'barks' AV in our 'heads' using our own higher level thoughts and vocabularies to make us assume our higher selves are actually producing the 'want' or desire, to influence our actions in order to fulfill its raison d'etre .
The problem that arises is that alcohol is not a survival need, it's really a poison. The Beast, a rogue survival drive, doesn't know( nor does It care) that what It wants is a net negative toward mind,body and soul, IT just wants. And that's ok , IT can want all it wants, doesn't mean You need to do what It wants, it would be a net positive, in fact, if you did the exact opposite , yeah ?