- Paperback: 318 pages
- Publisher: HarperPerennial; Revised edition edition (Nov 1984)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060911514
- ISBN-13: 978-0060911515
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.5 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 449,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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First Sentence
Since the modern concept of hysteria was cut from the cloth of malingering, and since the physician most responsible for establishing "hysteria" as a medically legitimate illness was Charcot, I shall start with an examination of his work; and I shall then trace the development of the concept of hysteria to the present time. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Since the modern concept of hysteria was cut from the cloth of malingering, and since the physician most responsible for establishing "hysteria" as a medically legitimate illness was Charcot, I shall start with an examination of his work; and I shall then trace the development of the concept of hysteria to the present time. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To sum up mental illness is impossible in this space but to add light to the correct or successful line of thinking is to understand 'exactly' what Szasz said back then (1980's), and 'that is' that it is NOT an ILLNESS but a CONDITION. If your football team perform bad and are in a state of frustration and confusion are they ill? No, they are having problems coping with either 'stress, the weather, new team members, the others teams strategy, personal pressure, etc'. They are NOT prescribed pills or tablets but are given guidance and training to help cope. This is the core of the reasoning. There are institutions and people of 'power' (without name) who are in positions which come with responsibility of the 'well-being' of humanity but are not humanitarian's and are often delusional and without sympathy or 'soul'. They know just as the average citizen feels (whether conscious or not) that the 'stresses and pressures' of the society these people 'over-see' are often inhuman and un-natural, therefore reactions and symptoms will inevitably occur which can easily be thought of (without observation and study) as un-natural and sometimes in-human behaviour (remembering some cultures call it possession).
34 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
At one time or another many people become unhappy or angry to the point where they don't feel that they can cope with life because of their spouse or their mortgage or whatever. As Thomas Szasz argues in 'The Myth of Mental Illness', this is unfortunate, but it doesn't constitute a biological illness. As such, if we pretend it is an illness we do a disservice to all concerned. The 'patient' gets the impression that he can't do anything to fix his own problems. The doctor has to deal with people whom he cannot help because they have a life problem, not a biological problem. Worse still, the idea of mental illness conflates medicine with law and morality and as Szasz argues this is a dangerous tendency. If you want to understand more about human behaviour and the world in general, read this book.
25 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Though this book might be of paramount importance for those who desire to find an antithetical position to the "Doctors for the pathologizing of human behavior," I think it a terrible mistake to read this book with the assumption that understanding Szasz will be the result. Written early in his career, this book, like Beethoven's early symphonies, deserves not the attention it receives for the titilating title. I believe the influence of Karl Kraus caused the about face demonstrated by "The Myth of Psychotherapy" from the position outlined in "The Ethics of Psychoanalysis," both books he published later. For those that desire to find a summation of Szasz in one volume, I would recommend "Insanity."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Szasz knows the truth !
The first time I came into contact with Thomas Szasz was in the spring of 1980, my last year in high school. Read more
Published 6 months ago by E. Blonde
The myths of the fanatical, neo-Kraepelinian brain scapegoaters
Thomas Szasz, vociferous, unwavering opponent of coercive psychiatry and the many it has and continues to ruin, unleashed a lot of irrational forces amongst the psychiatric... Read more
Published 10 months ago by The Sweet poetry of Pus
Challenging and important
Szasz has a strong and anti-establishment view of psychiatry, and uses a range of arguments from sociology, semiotics, communication analysis, ethics and game theory to support his... Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2008 by Quotidian
It Would Be Nice If True; But This Is Wrong and Dangerous
It would be nice if Szasz's opinions about mental illness were true; just it would be nice if cancer didn't exist or poverty could be wised away. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2004 by R. A. Levien
Fascinating and Superb
Superb and fascinating. One of the most logical and outstanding works in psychiatry I've read in a long long time. Believable and academically shattering. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 1999
Important.
Szasz is changing the world one by one; read this book and have a new perspective shown to you. Many may criticize his ideas just because they explode the nice neat answer of... Read more
Published on 19 April 1999
Beyond Psychiatry
Whenever I read a book such as this I am always reminded of C.G.Jung, who wisely found Psychiatry lacking "something," and moved beyond its confines to deeper spiritual... Read more
Published on 3 Mar 1999
Personal responsibilty can be harder to swallow than a drug.
I have a theory of Personality. As babies we all have those "hardwired" responses (crying when hungry, uncomfortable, whatever). Soon we begin to notice things. Read more
Published on 26 Oct 1998
The Myth of Thomas Szasz
I wish I could believe that this book was a hilarious parody, a deliberate reductio ad absurdum of the worst anti-psychiatric cliches of the '60s. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 1998
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