Thomas Szasz wrote over thirty books and several hundred articles, replete with mordant criticism of psychiatry, in both scientific and popular periodicals. His works made him arguably one of the world's most recognized psychiatrists, albeit one of the most controversial. These writings have been translated into several languages and have earned him a worldwide following. Szasz was a man of towering intellect, sweeping historical knowledge, and
deep-rooted, mostly libertarian, philosophical beliefs. He wrote with a lucid and acerbic wit, but usually in a way that is accessible to general readers. His books cautioned against the
indiscriminate power of psychiatry in courts and in society, and against the apparent rush to medicalize all human folly. They have spawned an eponymous ideology that has influenced, to various degrees, laws relating to mental health in several countries and states.This book critically examines the legacy of Thomas Szasz - a man who challenged the very concept of mental illness and questioned several practices of psychiatrists. The book surveys his many contributions
including those in psychoanalysis, which are very often overlooked by his critics. While admiring his seminal contribution to the debate, the book will also point to some of his assertions that merit closer
scrutiny. Contributors to the book are drawn from various disciplines, including Psychiatry, Philosophy and Law; and are from various countries including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Some contributors knew Thomas Szasz personally and spent many hours with him discussing issues he raised in his books and articles. The book will be fascinating reading for anyone interested in matters of mental health, human rights, and ethics.
Author Biography:
C.V. Haldipur is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University. He met Thomas Szasz, then already at Upstate, when he was a trainee in England in the 1960s, maintained correspondence with Szasz, and eventually joined the same faculty after completing his psychiatric training in Cambridge and Edinburgh. Haldipur has held various academic and administrative positions at Upstate, including Director of Medical Student Education in
the Department of Psychiatry and Co-Director of the required Practice of Medicine (POM) course for all first and second-year medical students. He is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and a
Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. James L. Knoll IV, is Director of Forensic Psychiatry and Professor of Psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He has worked as a forensic evaluator for state and federal courts, corrections, and the private sector. He is Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Psychiatric Times and a contributing editor for the Correctional Mental Health Report. He has authored over 150 publications in journals and book chapters. His afterword to David
Kaczynski's memoir, Every Last Tie: The Story of the Unabomber and His Family, was published by Duke University Press in 2016. He has authored chapters in two well-received books from Oxford University
Press: Stalking: Psychiatric Perspectives and Practical Approaches, edited by Debra A. Pinals (2007), and the Oxford Textbook of Correctional Psychiatry, edited by Robert L. Trestman et al. (2015). Knoll developed an academic friendship with Szasz in Upstate's Department of Psychiatry. Eric v.d. Luft earned his B.A. magna cum laude in philosophy and religion at Bowdoin College in 1974, his Ph.D. in philosophy at Bryn Mawr College in 1985, and his M.L.S. at Syracuse University in 1993. From 1987
to 2006 he was Curator of Historical Collections at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He has taught at Villanova University, Syracuse University, Upstate, and the College of Saint Rose. He is the
author, editor, or translator of over 640 publications in philosophy, religion, librarianship, history, history of medicine, and nineteenth-century studies, including Hegel, Hinrichs, and Schleiermacher on Feeling and Reason in Religion: The Texts of Their 1821-22 Debate (1987), God, Evil, and Ethics: A Primer in the Philosophy of Religion (2004), A Socialist Manifesto (2007), Die at the Right Time: A Subjective Cultural History of the American Sixties (2009), Ruminations: Selected
Philosophical, Historical, and Ideological Papers (vol. 1, 2010; vol. 2, 2013), and The Value of Suicide (2012).
