Thomas Szasz
Psychiatric expert testimony: mendacity masquerading as medicine.
Thomas SzaszWhen a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him.
Thomas SzaszHe who does not accept and respect those who want to reject life does not truly accept and respect life itself.
Thomas SzaszThe stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
Thomas SzaszIf you talk to God, you are praying; if God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.
Thomas SzaszHappiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.
Thomas SzaszPunishment is now unfashionable... because it creates moral distinctions among men, which, to the democratic mind, are odious. We prefer a meaningless collective guilt to a meaningful individual responsibility.
Thomas SzaszPeople often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates.
Thomas SzaszClear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.
Thomas SzaszIt is easier to do one's duty to others than to one's self. If you do your duty to others, you are considered reliable. If you do your duty to yourself, you are considered selfish.
Thomas SzaszNo further evidence is needed to show that 'mental illness' is not the name of a biological condition whose nature awaits to be elucidated, but is the name of a concept whose purpose is to obscure the obvious.
Thomas SzaszPermissiveness is the principle of treating children as if they were adults; and the tactic of making sure they never reach that stage.
Thomas SzaszMen are afraid to rock the boat in which they hope to drift safely through life's currents, when, actually, the boat is stuck on a sandbar. They would be better off to rock the boat and try to shake it loose.
Thomas SzaszTwo wrongs don't make a right, but they make a good excuse.
Thomas SzaszFormerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic.
Thomas SzaszA teacher should have maximal authority, and minimal power.
Thomas SzaszIf the dead talk to you, you are a spiritualist; if God talks to you, you are a schizophrenic.
Thomas Szasz
