Thomas Szasz
an appraisal of his legacy
Bände/Inhalt:
- Introduction / C.V. Haldipur, James L. Knoll IV, and Eric v.d. Luft -- Part 1: Intellectual roots of Szasz's thought. 1. Study on the Szaszophone: theme and variations / Stephen Wilson -- 2. Leading up to The myth of mental illness / Jan Pols -- 3. Philosophical influences on Thomas Szasz / Eric v.d. Luft -- 4. Conceptual models of normative content in mental disorders / John Z. Sadler -- Part 2: The concept of mental illness. 5. Szasz, suicide, and medical ethics / George J. Annas -- 6. Agency, mental illness, and psychiatry: a response to Thomas Szasz / Robert W. Daly -- 7. Taking Szasz seriously-and his critics, too: thesis, antithesis, and a values-based synthesis / K.W.M. Fulford -- 8. Schizophrenia: sacred symbol or Achilles heel? / E. Fuller Torrey -- 9. Suicide prohibition: shame, blame, or social aim? / James L. Knoll IV -- 10. Myths, projections, and overextensions: the conceptual landscape of Thomas Szasz / Jennifer Church -- 11. The clinical wisdom of Thomas Szasz / Mantosh J. Dewan and Eugene A. Kaplan -- 12. Thomas Szasz and the language of mental illness / Ronald W. Pies -- Part 3: Szasz's larger impact. 13. The myth and reality of mental illness / Allen Frances -- 14. Reform and revolution in the context of critical psychiatry and service user/survivor movements / Nancy Nyquist Potter -- 15. Thomas Szasz and the insanity defense / Neil Pickering -- 16. Bringing psychopaths into the moral community: reassessing agency cultivation and social participation / Marisola Xhelili Ciaccio -- 17. Mental illness is not a myth: epistemic favoritism in research funding / Mona Gupta -- 18. Rights, responsibilities, and mental illnesses: a chronology of the Szasz decades / Jennifer Radden -- 19. Szasz's legacy and current challenges in psychiatry / Thomas Schramme -- Epilogue / C.V. Haldipur
- Thomas Szasz wrote over thirty books and several hundred articles, replete with mordant criticism of psychiatry, in both scientific and popular periodicals. his works made him arguably one of the world's most recognized psychiatrists, albeit one of the most controversial. These writings have been translated into several languages and have earned him a worldwide following. Szasz was a man of towering intellect, sweeping historical knowledge, and deep-rooted, mostly libertarian, philosophical beliefs. he wrote with a lucid and acerbic wit,but usually in a way that is accessible to general readers. His books cautioned against the indiscriminate power of psychiatry in courts and in society, and against the apparent rush to medicalize all human folly. They have spawned an eponymous ideology that has influenced, to various degrees, laws relating to mental health in several countries and states. This book critically examines the legacy of Thomas Szasz - a man who challenged the very concept of mental illness and questioned several practices of psychiatrists. The book surveys his many contributions including those in psychoanalysis, which are very often overlooked by his critics. While admiring his seminal contribution to the debate, the book will also point to some of his assertions that merit closer scrutiny. contributors to the book are drawn from various disciplines, including psychiatry, philosophy, and law; and are from various countries including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Some contributors knew Thomas Szasz personally and spent many hours with him discussing issues he raised in his books and articles.