The Myth of Mental Illness, Thomas S. Szasz, MD
The Myth of Mental Illness, Thomas S. Szasz, MD
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The Myth of Mental Illness
Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct

Author: Thomas S. Szasz, MD

Narrator: Tom Parks

Unabridged: 11 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/13/2020

Synopsis

The fiftieth 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.

About Thomas S. Szasz, MD

Thomas S. Szasz, MD, (1920-2012) was an academic, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst. He served for most of his career as professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. His works include The Myth of Mental Illness and The Manufacture of Madness.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Tucker on November 23, 2009

Seen in the best possible light, this is a well-read, illuminating presentation of a relativistic theory of cultural norms. The author says that those who break these norms, the "mentally ill," do so for certain reasons, usually because it benefits them to do so. Classifying them as "mentally ill" c......more

Goodreads review by Owlseyes on May 29, 2023

"In 1938 when I came to the United States, there were 13 epileptic colonies in the country, housing tens of thousands of inmates" In "Cruel compassion" by Thomas Szasz "Sometimes famous persons are said to be mentally ill-for example Adolf Hitler, Ezra Pound, Earl Long. At other times the label is att......more

Goodreads review by Alo on June 02, 2012

If you think this book is dangerous then I'm not sure you understood it.......more

Goodreads review by Nick on April 21, 2009

Incredibly eye opening book. Shows how the majority of "mental illnesses", except those of clear neurological basis, are not illnesses at all. Mental illness is a metaphor. This isn't to say that what we normally refer to as "mental illness" doesn't exist, clearly these many psychological experience......more

Goodreads review by Michael on December 05, 2011

Szasz makes a frontal assault on the power of psychiatry, arguing that mental illness is a myth and that the power accorded to psychiatrists to decide if people are legally responsible for their actions, have them committed to hospitals, and prescribe various psychotropic medications is fundamentall......more

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