Thomas Szasz is renowned for his critical exploration of the
literal language of psychiatry and his rejection of officially
sanctioned definitions of mental illness. His work has initiated a
continuing debate in the psychiatric community whose essence is
often misunderstood. Szasz's critique of the established view of
mental illness is rooted in an insistent distinction between
disease and behavior. In his view, psychiatrists have misapplied
the vocabulary of disease as metaphorical figures to denote a range
of deviant behaviors from the merely eccentric to the criminal. In
A Lexicon of Lunacy, Szasz extends his analysis of psychiatric
language to show how its misuse has resulted in a medicalized view
of life that denies the reality of free will and
responsibility.
Szasz documents the extraordinary extent to which modern
diagnosis of mental illness is subject to shifting social attitudes
and values. He shows how economic, personal, legal, and political
factors have come to play an increasingly powerful role in the
diagnostic process, with consequences of blurring the distinction
between cultural and scientific standards. Broadened definitions of
mental illness have had a corrosive effect on the criminal justice
system in undercutting traditional conceptions of criminal behavior
and have encouraged state-sanctioned coercive interventions that
bestow special privileges (and impose special hardships) on persons
diagnosed as mentally ill.
Lucidly written and powerfully argued, and now available in
paperback, this provocative and challenging volume will be of
interest to psychologists, criminologists, and sociologists.
General
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