Full Description
For centuries forced confinement, cruel 'cures', political repression and ritualized personal degradation have all been rationalized and justified by appeals to the dogmas of psychiatry. Originally published in 1973 this book, written by one of the twentieth century's most respected yet controversial psychiatrists, presents a clear picture of the origin and development of modern attitudes toward involuntary psychiatric interventions. The materials Thomas S. Szasz has collected span three centuries and several continents and include works which had never before been translated into English. The result is a thought-provoking mixture of psychiatric history, medical politics, literature and social science. Among the views represented are those of Daniel Defoe, Anton Chekhov, Jack London, James Thurber, Sylvia Plath and Erving Goffman.
Contents
Preface to the British Edition, 1974. Preface. Introduction. Part 1: The Birth of Psychiatric Power (1650-1865) 1. Observations on Psychiatric Confinement Daniel Defoe, Sir John Foresque-Aland and John Conolly 2. The Pennsylvania Hospital: Its Founding and Functions Thomas G. Morton 3. The Utility of Public Asylums for Lunatics Philippe Pinel 4. Deception and Terror as Cures for Madness Benjamin Rush 5. A Lunatic's Protest John Perceval 6. Madness and Blackness, from The American Journal of Insanity (1840) 7. Democracy as Mental Disease, from The American Journal of Insanity (1851) 8. 'In Case you Refuse...' from the Records of the Dorothea Dix Hospital, Raliegh, N.C. Part 2: The Growth of Psychiatric Power (1865-1920) 1. Madness and Marriage E P. W. Packard 2. Expert Testimony in Judicial Proceedings John Ordronaux 3. The Psychiatric Assassination of King Ludwig II of Bavaria Werner Richtig 4. The 'Boodle Gang' S. V. Clevenger 5. Ward No. 6 Anton Pavlovich Checkhov 6. Madness and Morality Karl Kraus 7. The Commitment of Bishop Morehouse Jack London Part 3: The Flowering of Psychiatric Power (1920-) 1. From the Slaughterhouse to the Madhouse Ugo Cerletti 2. The Discovery of Lobotomy Egas Moniz 3. The Sick and the Mad Frigyes Karinthy 4. Ward 7 Valeriy Tarsis 5. 'Patient Labour' in the British Mental Hospital System J. A. R. Bickford 6. Illegitimacy and Insanity from The Guardian 7. Faces in the Water Janet Frame 8. Psychiatric Justice in Canada Harvey Currell, Peter Bruton, Sidney Katz (from the Toronto Daily Star and the Toronto Telegram) 9. Position Statement on the Medical Treatment of the Mentally Ill American Psychiatric Association and the National Association for Mental Health 10. Out of Sight, Out of Mind Frank L. Wright, Jr. 11. The Moral Career of the Mental Patient Erving Goffman 12. Adjustment to the Total Institution Byron G. Wales 13. The Unicorn in the Garden James Thurber 14. The Insanity Bit Seymour Krim 15. Johny Panic and the Bible of Dreams Sylvia Plath 16. City Psychiatric Frank Leonard 17. The Machine in Ward Eleven Charles Willeford 18. Sanity Through Suffocation, from Medical World News. Epilogue.
