Thomas Szasz has died. He was 92.
He was a great intellectual freedom fighter who carved out a unique niche.
(Thank you, Jim Bovard for the news, sad though it may be.)
Thomas Szasz has died. He was 92.
He was a great intellectual freedom fighter who carved out a unique niche.
(Thank you, Jim Bovard for the news, sad though it may be.)
Oh, No! I knew it would be coming, but am so saddened by the news.
His death is a great loss for psychiatry, which was so willing to ignore him, and for human understanding in general. “The Myth of Mental Illness” was a true antidote against the black mark of the psychiatric profession.
Tom was one of the great heroes of liberty of the past half century. His work had severed the chains on so many wrongfully incarcerated people.
Tom was also one libertarian who did not cast half his principles overboard after 9/11.
Unfortunately, Szasz was never even mentioned in my psychology classes, so I didn’t get to read any of his material until long after I graduated. But he has been a profound influence on my thinking since. I had already dismissed the “disease theory” of psychiatry, especially in the area of “addiction,” before that and was grateful to find such a powerful vindication.
RIP indeed. The world has lost another freedom giant.