“Thelandmarkbookthatarguedthatpsychiatryconsistentlyexpandsitsdefinitionofmentalillnesstoimposeitsauthorityovermoralandculturalconflict.“--NewYorkTimesThe50thanniversaryeditionofthemostinfluentialcritiqueofpsychiatryeverywritten,withanewprefaceontheageofProzacandRitalinandtheriseofdesignerdrugs,plustwobonusessays.ThomasSzasz’sclassicbookrevolutionizedthinkingaboutthenatureofthepsychiatricprofessionandthemoralimplicationsofitspractices.Bydiagnosingunwantedbehaviorasmentalillness,psychiatrists,Szaszargues,absolveindividualsofresponsibilityfortheiractionsandinsteadblametheirallegedillness.HealsocritiquesFreudianpsychologyasapseudoscienceandwarnsagainstthedangerousoverreachofpsychiatryintoallaspectsofmodernlife.
