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Thomas Szasz Quotes (1920-2012)
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About Thomas Szasz
Thomas Szasz (April 15, 1920 β September 8, 2012) was a Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York, and a noted critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry.
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βIn the past, men created witches: now they create mental patients.β
βIn the animal kingdom, the rule is, eat or be eaten; in the human kingdom, define or be defined.β
βA child becomes an adult when he realizes that he has a right not only to be right but also to be wrong.β
βThe stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naΓ―ve forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.β
βLike the devout theologian seeing the Devil lurking everywhere, Menninger, the devout Freudian, sees aggression.β
βThe passion to interpret as madness that with which we disagree seems to have infected the best of contemporary minds.β
βThe wise treat self-respect as non-negotiable, and will not trade it for health or wealth or anything else.β
βThe βtreatmentβ can have only one goal: to convert the heretic to the true faith, to transform the homosexual into a heterosexual.β
βThe language of scienceβand especially of a science of manβis, necessarily, anti-individualistic, and hence a threat to human freedom and dignity.β
βPeople often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds; it is something one creates.β
βThe crime [homosexuality] was subject to punishment by both secular and ecclesiastical courtsβjust as now it is subject to punishment by both penal and psychiatric sanctions.β
βWhat had been drapetomania became depression. ... Modern man runs away from a life that seems to him a kind of slavery.β
βOver the past thirty years, we have replaced the medical-political persecution of illegal sex users ("perverts" and "psychopaths") with the even more ferocious medical-political persecution of illegal drug users.β
βParents teach children discipline for two different, indeed diametrically opposed, reasons: to render the child submissive to them and to make him independent of them. Only a self-disciplined person can be obedient; and only such a person can be autonomous.β
Thomas Szasz Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of Thomas Szasz quotes by topic.
Thomas Szasz on Psychiatry 5 quotes
βSince this is the age of science, not religion, psychiatrists are our rabbis, heroin is our pork, and the addict is the unclean person.β
Thomas Szasz on Drugs 3 quotes
βSince this is the age of science, not religion, psychiatrists are our rabbis, heroin is our pork, and the addict is the unclean person.β
Thomas Szasz on Anti-psychiatry 2 quotes
βLabeling a child as mentally ill is stigmatization, not diagnosis. Giving a child a psychiatric drug is poisoning, not treatment.β
Thomas Szasz on Witchcraft
βIn the past, men created witches: now they create mental patients.β
Thomas Szasz on Boredom
Thomas Szasz on Respect
βThe wise treat self-respect as non-negotiable, and will not trade it for health or wealth or anything else.β
Thomas Szasz on Self-esteem
βThe wise treat self-respect as non-negotiable, and will not trade it for health or wealth or anything else.β
Thomas Szasz on Depression
βWhat had been drapetomania became depression. ... Modern man runs away from a life that seems to him a kind of slavery.β
Thomas Szasz on Slavery
βWhat had been drapetomania became depression. ... Modern man runs away from a life that seems to him a kind of slavery.β
Thomas Szasz on Drapetomania
βWhat had been drapetomania became depression. ... Modern man runs away from a life that seems to him a kind of slavery.β
Thomas Szasz on Masturbation
βMasturbation: the primary sexual activity of mankind. In the nineteenth century it was a disease; in the twentieth, it's a cure.β
What Thomas Szasz Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Thomas Szasz shared regarding contemporaries.
Thomas Szasz on David Levy
βLevyβs style combines erudition with simplicity and earnestness with humor. The result is clear and compelling, accessible to lay persons and mental health professionals alike.β
About Thomas Szasz
Thomas Szasz (April 15, 1920 β September 8, 2012) was a Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York, and a noted critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry.