You always got the impression with Thomas Szasz that had he lived to the age of 1000 or 100,000 he still would not have changed his mind one bit. There is something slightly unsettling about this, as it suggests a fanatical or absolutist position that does not sit easily in our post-modern age. Read more
My concern remains that the lived realities of the psychiatric patients about whom Szasz was writing seemed far less relevant to him than those more abstract notions of freedom and responsibility which it was his life’s work to defend. Read more
Dr Thomas Stephen Szasz 15 April 1920 (Budapest) – 8 September 2012 (Manlius, NY) with the death of Thomas Szasz, at the age of 92, psychiatry has lost its most vociferous critic. Asylum 19:4 began with an appreciation by Ron Roberts. Having called for contributions, we now mark the event with a collection of different perspectives on Szasz’s work and ideas. Read more
Thomas Szasz (1920 – 2012) Life, Liberty and Politics… Dr Thomas Szasz’s life-long defence of basic human freedoms came to an end on September 8th. Although sidelined for years by mainstream toxic psychiatry, Szasz’s work remains far from irrelevant. On both sides of the Atlantic, the government of the people by corporate and business representatives against the people appears committed to eroding or abolishing those liberties that have been won through determination and hard-fought struggle. Read more
A call for contributions to a special issue of Asylum: The Magazine for Democratic Psychiatry on Thomas Szasz (1920-2012)
This is the third issue since the relaunch last March. The first two issues focussed on particular topics – paranoia and medication, respectively. These were packed with information and were well-received by those who saw them. And if you didn’t see them, order them now! In contrast, this issue touches a variety of bases. Read more
