Thomas Szasz

[[File:Dr Thomas S Szasz.jpg|thumb|165px|Szasz in 2010]]{{altmed}}{{sources needed}}
'''Dr. Thomas Szasz''' (1920-2012)<ref>
[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/health/dr-thomas-szasz-psychiatrist-who-led-movement-against-his-field-dies-at-92.html Szasz's obituary at the ''New York Times'']
</ref>
was a [[Hungarian]]-born [[psychiatry|psychiatrist]], [[libertarian]], and, along with [[L. Ron Hubbard]], a granddaddy of [[mental illness denial | mental-illness denial]] (though admittedly Szasz scored over Hubbard in one respect: Szasz was subject to the [[stopped clock|Stopped Clock]] Rule; the fraud was too strong with Hubbard to permit this).

==Anti-psychiatry crankiness==
Szasz<ref>Thomas Szasz should not be confused with Batman villain {{wpl|Victor Zsasz}}, who is just as scary but for very different reasons</ref> had a rather strange relationship with the mentally ill due to his position. He viewed most who had been diagnosed with mental disorders as people who were simply different and had been violated by state force. However, he was horrified by the insanity defense and seemed to harbor some fear or grudge against the severely mentally ill who were prone to violent acts. He advocated allowing psychiatric patients to [[Suicide|kill themselves]] if that was their wish. He disavowed any sustained interest in psychiatry, saying he was more concerned with history, [[philosophy]], and [[society]]. He undertook a very short medical residence and then transferred to a psychiatric residence where he stayed away from the severely mentally ill at all costs. When his supervisor told him he should spend more time with those who had severe illness, he left the institution where he worked.<ref>Robert Michels. [http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200503243521226 Book Review: Szasz Under Fire.] ''N. Engl. J. Med.'' 2005; 352:1273-1274</ref>

At this point, Szasz launched his attack on psychiatry in the early 1960s by publishing articles on the abolition of the [[insanity]] defense in law journals as well as his first book, ''The Myth of Mental Illness''. Szasz blasted psychiatry as a [[pseudoscience]] and denied the reality of mental illness. He also co-founded the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), the [[Scientology]] [[front group]], along with Hubbard.

As psychiatry relegated its more barbaric practices to the dustbin of history, Szasz faded from relevance. Many of his earlier works specifically criticized [[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] psychoanalysis, which has been relegated to the fringes of the psychological sciences today. However, he refused to budge from his [[denialist]] position and continued to churn out the same crap over and over again. Most of his books are about either the same basic argument of mental illness denial applied to some disorder or therapy or libertarian tracts about the legalization of drugs.

While Szasz disavowed the label of "anti-psychiatry," he is generally seen as a major figure within the loosely knit "movement." Although he was never a Scientologist (indeed, an outspoken [[atheist]]), he acted as an enabler for their [[bullshit]] during his time at CCHR.

==Stopped clock==
While Szasz did write a few paranoid things about psychiatric [[dystopia]]s, he never descended into the really cranky [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracies]] and cultish authoritarianism that the Scientologists did. He also had ''some'' positive influence on psychiatry, as he called for the end of execrable practices like forced [[Lobotomy|lobotomies]] and misuse of [[electroconvulsive therapy]]. While his science might have been largely bunk, he attacked and ultimately contributed to the demise or limitation of some of the worst abuses surrounding forced institutionalization and the mental health system. He was also a strong proponent of [[gay rights]] at a time when [[homosexuality]] was still listed as a mental disorder in the [[DSM]]. However, he also unfortunately endorsed [[Janice Raymond]]'s infamous [[Transmisogyny|transmisogynistic]] screed, ''The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male'', the [[Trans-exclusionary radical feminism|TERF]] bible.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/10/archives/male-and-female-created-he-them-transexual.html Szasz's praise of Raymond's book and views on transgender people] </ref>

He was heavily critical of a number of other anti-psychiatric figures, though for some reason he had no problem with the [[Scientology|Scientologists]].<ref>Szasz. [http://www.springerlink.com/content/5181704176g65265/ Debunking Antipsychiatry: Laing, Law, and Largactil.] ''Current Psychology'' Volume 27, Number 2, 79-101</ref>

==Libertarianism==
He has also held some influence within the libertarian movement. He was listed as an "adjunct scholar" at the [[Cato Institute]] and formerly wrote for ''[[Foundation for Economic Education|The Freeman]]''. The US [[Libertarian Party]] at one time incorporated some of Szasz's views into its platform.<ref>[http://www.janpols.net/Chapter-3/4.2.html Szasz as Theoretician], Jan Pols</ref> This (along with the fact that the [[Soviet Union]] classified political dissidents as having mental disorders in order to imprison them<ref>They were diagnosed with "sluggish paranoid schizophrenia", a [[bullshit|disorder made up to achieve this]], and were put in "mental hospitals" that in the West are often erroneously called "Gulags" (though serving the same purpose).</ref>) has created a small strain of mental illness denial within the libertarian movement, especially those who still see [[Communism|Reds]] [[paranoia|under every bed]].

==External links==
*[http://www.szasz.com/ Szasz Cybercenter for Liberty and Responsibility]
*[http://www.cato.org/people/thomas-szasz Szasz at Cato]
*[http://www.szasz-texte.de/publist.html The Szasz motherlode]
*[http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Szasz/myth.htm The original Myth of Mental Illness paper], later expanded into the book of the same name.
*[http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-myth-of-thomas-szasz The Myth of Thomas Szasz], ''New Atlantis''
*[http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/responding-to-a-szaszian/ Responding to a Szaszian], [[Steven Novella]]
*Edward Shorter. [http://pb.rcpsych.org/content/35/5/183.abstract Still Tilting at Windmills.] ''The Psychiatrist'' (2011) 35: 183-184
*Ronald Pies. [http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/36/2/139 On Myths and Countermyths: More on Szaszian Fallacies.] Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1979;36(2):139-144.

==References==
*''Szasz Under Fire'', ed. Jeffrey Schaler

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szasz, Thomas}}
[[Category:Psychologists]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Denialists]]
[[Category:Libertarians]]
[[Category:Mental health]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Scientology]]
[[Category:Mental health woo]]
[[Category:Alternative medicine promoters]]
[[Category:Ableism]]
[[Category:Transphobes]]

Categories: Psychologists, Atheists, Denialists, Libertarians, Mental health, Pseudoscience promoters, Scientology, Mental health woo, Alternative medicine promoters, Ableism, Transphobes