Name: ____________________ 1
Date: ___________
Questions about “The Myth of Mental Illness” by Thomas Szasz (1960)
1) Is mental illness literally a “thing”?
exist then?
To what does Szasz relate how mental illnesses do
MENTAL ILLNESS AS A SIGN OF BRAIN DISEASE
2) Szasz argues that all mental illnesses are seen as being caused by what? What is the
difference in how all of these mental illnesses manifest themselves?
3) In general, what does “epistemological” mean? How does it relate to Szasz’s argument?
4) Mental symptoms are inextricably tied to what according to Szasz? In your own words,
what does this mean?
MENTAL ILLNESS AS A NAME FOR PROBLEMS IN LIVING
5) Does Szasz believe that life is easy or difficult? Does he believe that there is a such
thing as natural human interaction? How does this relate to his main argument?
6) Who decides what the normal interactions are (the norms)?
7) What does Szasz think about the use of drugs in treating mental illnesses?
THE ROLE OF ETHICS IN PSYCHIATRY
8) “Psychiatry, I submit, is very much more intimately tied to problems of ethics than is
medicine.” What evidence does Szasz provide to support this statement?
9) “The diversity of human values” will inevitably lead to what?
YOUR OPINION AND DISCUSSION
10) Paraphrase Szasz’s argument in a couple of sentences.
11) Evaluate Szasz’s argument? Are you persuaded at all? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of his argument?