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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... therapeutic contract " governing their relationship . Everyone defined as a “ mental health professional " is now legally responsible for preventing his patient from being “ dangerous to himself or others . " In short , psychiatry is ...
... therapeutic ideology that has replaced the old theological worldview , and the political and professional interests it sets in motion . I should mention here one of my childhood experiences that influenced me strongly and played an ...
... therapeutic state.27 Moreover , the belief that so - called mental health problems stand in the same relation to brain diseases as , say , urinary problems stand in relation to kidney diseases is superficially attractive , even ...
... therapeutic justifications for state - sanctioned coercion . This is how , some two hundred years ago , psychiatry became an arm of the coercive apparatus of the state . And this is why today all of medicine threatens to become ...
... therapeutic methods with which to help their patients. This was especially true for the neurologist, who dealt almost entirely with what were then incurable diseases. Charcot, moreover, was not just a physician in private practice. He ...
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 |