The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct“The landmark book that argued that psychiatry consistently expands its definition of mental illness to impose its authority over moral and cultural conflict.” — New York Times The 50th anniversary edition of the most influential critique of psychiatry every written, with a new preface on the age of Prozac and Ritalin and the rise of designer drugs, plus two bonus essays. Thomas Szasz's classic book revolutionized thinking about the nature of the psychiatric profession and the moral implications of its practices. By diagnosing unwanted behavior as mental illness, psychiatrists, Szasz argues, absolve individuals of responsibility for their actions and instead blame their alleged illness. He also critiques Freudian psychology as a pseudoscience and warns against the dangerous overreach of psychiatry into all aspects of modern life. |
From inside the book
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... BEHAVIOR 7. Language and Protolanguage 8. Hysteria as Communication IV: RULE-FOLLOWING ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR 9. The Rule-Following Model of Human Behavior 10. The Ethics of Helplessness and Helpfulness 11. Theology, Witchcraft, and ...
... behavior . Old diseases such as homosexuality and hysteria disappear , while new diseases such as gambling and smoking appear , as if to replace them . Fifty years ago , the question “ What is mental illness ? ” was of interest to the ...
... behaviors of other persons , the opposite is what actually happens : the history of psychiatry is the history of an ... behavior disturbs Macbeth , who sends for a doctor to cure his wife . The doctor arrives and quickly recognizes the ...
... behavior , Quite in the wrong . 12 By the end of the nineteenth century , the medical conquest of the soul is secure . Only writers are left to discern and denounce the tragic error . Søren Kierkegaard ( 1813-1855 ) warned : In our time ...
... behaviors — that is , of the observer's construction and definition of the behavior of the persons he observes as medically disabled individuals needing medical treatment . This cultural transformation is driven mainly by the modern ...
Contents
Breuer and Freuds Studies on Hysteria | |
SEMIOTICAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR | |
RULEFOLLOWING ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR | |
GAMEMODEL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR | |
Conclusions | |
Defining Disease | |
References | |
Bibliography | |
Name Index | |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR | |
Other editions - View all
The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct Thomas S. Szasz No preview available - 2010 |