Comments on: Thomas Szasz has left the building

By: ronald33

ronald33 — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 19:57:13 +0000

YOUR COMMENTS ARE BRILLIANT….As a psychiatric survivor (from Houston,Texas) I can appreciate DR. SZASZ’ work.

I only had a chance to meet him once…on October 28,2011 (at an ISEPP convention,Culver City,Los Angeles,California. It would be his last visit to Los Angeles…R.I.P. THOMAS SZASZ!

By: Idiot

Idiot — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 02:20:33 +0000

The other thing I might add is that libertarianism is strongly a priori and I would say this is not a good mode of thought to carry over to the profession of psychologist!

It strongly implies somebody who has made up their mind about a concept first and will filter information to bolster this initial conception.

By: Idiot

Idiot — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 02:05:40 +0000

A response by somebody who is more au fait with political philosophy than science:

The problem that libertarians always run into is that there is no hard and fast definition of what is a crime and what is not.

As crime is socially constituted to a greater or lesser degree, the question of the definition of crime becomes a legitimate field of contestation by and on the part of the community and therefore the community is ultimately responsible for the setting of at least some basic ground rules of society, which need to be followed by everyone.

The libertarians I have known try and ignore this fact but it fatally undermines their whole philosophy.

What they really mean is that they would like the community to define rules which are more of preference to themselves than those currently pertaining.

It amazes me that intelligent people such as Szasz should continue to believe that the concept of “individual liberty as a pure and unalienable right” is a defensible concept to any but those who wish to live in a Mad Max style “anarchy for all” environment.

My strong suspicion is that they do in fact realise this, but fail to acknowledge it, due mainly to selfishness and arrogance.

By: Nicolas Martin

Nicolas Martin — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:09:12 +0000

There is no “extreme liberty.” There is either liberty or not. One is a slaver or one is not. One has freedom of conscience and action or one does not.

By: Martín Rabezzana

Martín Rabezzana — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 15:17:11 +0000

The fact that he had not much in common with Laing, Cooper and others, is due to the fact that no matter how right is someone about something, there is not a person nor a discipline that contains all the truth, you have to look for it in different sources, he had a part of the truth, the chemical imbalance thing from psychiatry is not real, but there are some physical causes of mental disorders the he did not want to consider such as the vitamin deficiencies; not only alternative medicines but also the traditional western medicine admits that vitamin deficiencies results sometimes in physical and mental disorders (any mental disorder can be caused by that and psychiatry hides this), the hypoglucemia and the lack of nutrients in general results in depression, intoxication from heavy metals from polution that spread through the air, are absorbed by animals and vegetals, and the water that humans consume results in physical and mental disorders too, in these cases nutrition and detoxification is the solution so, he did a good job by discrediting psychiatry, but he did not criticize constructiveley since he forgot to propose and alternative to psychiatry (me, I do it).
All the same, thanks mister Szasz.

By: Arthur Battram

Arthur Battram — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:06:42 +0000

thanksfor comments and long piece Apo.

“The opposite of the good of the community is not pure liberty, but, rather, the total subjugation of the community.”

I agree HT, and yes, your USA is sliding away unnoticed from democracy.

I can’t do anything, I’m in UK, we just get dragged down with the USA – used to take 20 years to reach our shores, but now its faster, because of internet and globalisation.

Vaughn, I hope this has sharpened up your views on politics and psychology. I love Mind Hacks, but these smart than me folks have given us all some food for thought and some Cassandrisms to act upon.

By: Hedonic Treader

Hedonic Treader — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:20:34 +0000

Indeed. Unfortunately, there isn’t a critical mass of people who actually get that.

By: Aporeticist

Aporeticist — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:37:14 +0000

Szasz fled his homeland to escape the Hungarian variety of fascism, not communism. He left before the outbreak of WWII; the pro-Soviet regime took over his country only toward the end of the war.

By: Aporeticist

Aporeticist — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 11:45:55 +0000

Thanks for your (too) kind words, Tracy. I value your complement all the more, having reasons to believe you strongly disagree with some of what said directly and implicitly. (Years ago we had a very brief exchange at the ThomasSzaszDiscussion Yahoo forum (I was using a different handle then). It’s a small world, indeed! ) I tried to highlight some of Szasz’s contributions and relevant facts that Dr. Vaughan Bell didn’t mention in his article. I didn’t have time to correct and edit my post; it’s just a spontaneous tribute to a man who has taught many of us so much, and whose powerful ideas ought to be rescued from undeserved obscurity.

By: Tracy Harms

Tracy Harms — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 14:40:26 +0000

Thank you, Aporeticist, for that overview. You’ve noted the significance of his work more effectively than any other commentator I have seen since his death. I intend to help keep the insights, criticisms, and courage of Thomas Szasz alive by applying what I have learned from him, and speaking openly. It’s gratifying to see I am not the only one who will be doing so.