Thomas S. Szasz

About the Author

Thomas S. Szasz (1920-2012) was a Hungarian-American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and prolific author renowned for his radical critique of the psychiatric establishment and its practices. A fierce advocate for individual liberty and personal responsibility, Szasz challenged the medical model of mental illness, arguing that behaviors labeled as psychiatric disorders were often moral or social issues rather than diseases requiring coercive treatment. His seminal work, The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct, published in 1961, ignited a firestorm of debate and laid the groundwork for the anti-psychiatry movement, influencing generations of thinkers in philosophy, law, and medicine. Throughout his career, Szasz authored over thirty books and numerous essays, consistently defending civil rights against the overreach of state-sanctioned psychiatry, and he remained a steadfast libertarian voice until his death.