Thomas Szasz
was a prominent figure in the antipsychiatry movement, known for his critique of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry. He believed that mental illnesses are better understood as problems in living rather than medical diseases and was a staunch opponent of coercive psychiatric treatment. He was however, NOT antipsychiatry. Szasz’s view on psychiatry was that it often functions as a mechanism of social control, labelling individuals who deviate from societal norms as “ill” and subjecting them to involuntary treatments.
Thomas Szasz
Bio
Year of birth: (born::1920)
Year of death: (died::2012)
Nationality: (nationality::American-Hungarian)
Family: Father - Gyula Szasz, Mother - Lily Szasz
Period: (timecontext::20th century)
Works
Important Works: (impworks::The Myth of Mental Illness, The Manufacture of Madness, Insanity: The Idea and Its Consequences)
Contributions: Critique of psychiatry, view of mental illness as a social construct
Key Ideas: (KeyIdeas::Myth of Mental Illness, Critique of Psychiatry, Libertarianism)
Known For: (KnownFor::The Myth of Mental Illness, Critique of Psychiatric Practices)
Influenced By: (influencedby::Sigmund Freud, Karl Kraus, Ludwig von Mises)