Thomas Szasz, A.B., M.D., D.Sc. (Hon.), L.H.D. (Hon.)*

*A.B.: Bachelor of Arts; M.D.: Medical Doctor; D.Sc. (Hon.): Honorary Doctor of Science; L.H.D. (Hon.): Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in recognition of achievements in the humanities.

Born: Budapest, Hungary, April 15, 1920.

Education and Credentials

• A.B., with Honors in Physics, University of Cincinnati, 1941.
• M.D., University of Cincinnati, 1944.
• Intern, Fourth Medical Service (Harvard), Boston City Hospital, 1944-1945.
• Medical Resident, Cincinnati General Hospital, 1945-1946.
• Psychiatric Resident, University of Chicago Clinics, 1946-1948; Institute for Juvenile Research, Chicago, 1949.
• Psychoanalytic Training, Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, 1947-1950.
• Diplomate, National Board of Medical Examiners, 1945.
• Diploma, Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, 1950.
• Diplomate in Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1951.

Appointments

• Staff Member, Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, Chicago, Illinois, 1951-1956.
• Professor of Psychiatry, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, New York, 1956-1990.
• Visiting Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, June-July 1962.
• Visiting Professor, Marquette University School of Medicine, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 1968.
• Visiting Professor, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, February 1981.
• Co-founder, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, 1969.
• Co-founder and Founding Director, The American Association for the Abolition of Involuntary Mental Hospitalization, 1970. (Dissolved 1980.)
• Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, New York, 1990-
• Adjunct Scholar, The Cato Institute, Washington, D.C.
• Advisory Council, Resources for Independent Thinking.
• Member, Board of Advisors, The Henry Hazlitt Foundation.
• Member, Board of Advisors, The Independent Institute.
• Member, FORCES (Fight Ordinances and Restrictions to Control and Eliminate Smoking), Italy.
• Honour Committee, FORCES (Fight Ordinances and Restrictions to Control and Eliminate Smoking), Italy.

Military Service

United States Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland, 1954-1956. Rank on discharge: Commander, United States Naval Reserve.

Biographical Listings

• The American Academy of Human Services
• American Men and Women of Science
• American Publishing Who’s Who
• Biograf: Magyar Ki Kicsoda (Hungarian Who’s Who) (Hungary)
• The Blue Book: Leaders of the English-Speaking World
• The Cassell Handbook of Radicalism (UK, 1995)
• Community Leaders of Noteworthy Americans
• Contemporary Authors
• Deike Gedenktage (Switzerland)
• Dictionary of International Biography (London)
• The Directory of British and American Writers
• Icons: An A-Z Guide to People Who Shaped Our Time, by James Park (New York: Collier/Macmillan, 1991)
• Five Thousand Personalities of the World
• The Fontana Biographical Companion to Modern Thought (UK)
• International Authors and Writers Who’s Who (UK)
• International Directory of Distinguished Leadership
• International Directory of Distinguished Psychotherapists
• International Book of Honors
• International Who’s Who (UK)
• International Who’s Who in Community Service
• International Who’s Who in Medicine
• Le Petit Larousse Illustre (France)
• Men of Achievement (UK)
• National Register of Prominent Americans
• Outstanding People of the 20th Century (UK)
• Sterling Who’s Who Directory
• West’s Who’s Who in Health & Medical Services
• Who’s Who in America
• Who’s Who in American Education
• Who’s Who in American History
• Who’s Who of Authors
• Who’s Who in the East
• Who’s Who in Libertarianism
• Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare
• Who’s Who in North America
• Who’s Who in Science and Engineering
• Who’s Who in Society
• Who’s Who in the World
• Who’s Who Worldwide
• Who’s Who in World Science
• The Writer’s Dictionary

Editorial Appointments

• Critical Review
• Free Inquiry
• The Freeman (Columnist)
• The Humanistic Psychologist
• The International Journal of Addictions
• Journal of Cognitive Liberties
• Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy
• Journal of Humanistic Psychology
• Journal of Law and Human Behavior
• The Journal of Libertarian Studies
• The Journal of Mind and Behavior
• Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis
• Liberty
• Prometheus Books
• Reason
• Corporation for Economic Education
• The Independent Institute
• Libertarian Alliance, London (Advisory Council)

Awards

• Stella Feiss Hofheimer Award (for ranking first in the entire medical curriculum), College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, 1944.
• Alpha Omega Alpha, 1944.
• Honorary Fellow, The Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, 1962.
• The Ralph Kharas Award, Central New York Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union, 1967.
• The Annual Civil Liberties Carey Lectureship, Cornell Law School, 1968.
• The Holmes-Munsterberg Award, The International Academy of Forensic Psychology, 1969.
• The C.P. Snow Lectureship, Ithaca College, 1970.
• The Wisdom Award of Honor, 1970.
• The Root Tilden Lecturer, New York University School of Law, November 1971.
• Humanist of the Year, The American Humanist Association, 1973.
• Honorary Member, Mark Twain Society, 1973.
• Knight of Mark Twain, 1973.
• Distinguished Service Award, American Institute of Public Service, 1974.
• Honorary President, International Commission for Human Rights, London, England, 1974.
• Martin Buber Award, The Mid-Way Counseling Center, New York, 1974.
• Doctor of Science (Honorary), Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1975.
• Noel Buxton Lectureship, University of Essex, Colchester, England, 1975.
• The Robert S. Marx Lectureship University of Cincinnati College of Law, 1976.
• Hardy Chair Lectureship, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York, 1976.
• E. S. Meyer Memorial Lecturer, University of Queensland Medical School, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 1977.
• The Lambie-Dew Oration, Sydney University, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, 1977.
• Doctor of Science (Honorary), Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Guatemala City, Guatemala, 1979.
• Mencken Award, Free Press Association, 1981.
• Humanist Laureate, The Academy of Humanism, 1984.
• The Edward A. Strecker Memorial Award, Horizon House, 1985.
• The Statute of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Archives, Roster of naturalized citizens who have made a significant contribution to their country, 1986.
• Mencken Award, Free Press Association, 1988.
• Templeton Foundation Honor Roll, 1989.
• First Annual Norman E. Zinberg Memorial Lecture, Harvard Medical School, 1990.
• Establishment of “The Thomas S. Szasz Award for Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties,” Center for Independent Thought, New York and San Francisco, 1990.
• The Alfred R. Lindesmith Award for Achievement in the Field of Scholarship and Writing, Drug Policy Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1991.
• Distinguished Lecturer, Cato Institute, Washington, D.C., 1993.
• Honorary Visiting Fellow, School of Psychotherapy and Counseling, Regents College, London, 1994.
• Honorary Member, The Society of Saints and Scholars, University College Galway, Galway, Ireland, 1995.
• “Patients’ Rights Advocate” Award, Great Lakes Association of Clinical Medicine, 1995.
• Honorable Mention, Mencken Award, Free Press Association, 1995.
• Lifetime Achievement Award, American Institute for Public Service, 1997.
• Rollo May Award, American Psychological Association, 1998.
• Doctor of Humane Letters (Honorary), Towson University, Maryland, 1999.
• Doctor of Science (Honorary), Upstate Medical University, State University of New York, 2001.
• Hans Loewald Award, International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education, 2002.
• Distinguished Lecturer, Cato Institute, Washington, D.C., 2003.
• Listed in “Guide to America’s Top Physicians,” Consumers’ Research Council of America, 2003.
• Listed in “35 Heroes of Freedom,” Reason, 35: 64-69 (December), 2003.
• George Washington Award, American Hungarian Foundation, 2003.
• Establishment of the “Thomas S. Szasz Award,” Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Los Angeles, 2004.
• Lysander Spooner Award for Advancing the Literature of Liberty, Laissez Faire Books, 2004.
• Rollo May Award, Saybrook Graduate School, San Francisco, 2007.

Memberships in Professional Organisations

• Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association.
• Life Member, American Psychoanalytic Association; International Psychoanalytic Association.
• Fellow, International Academy of Forensic Psychology.
• Honorary Life Member, American Humanist Association.
• Honorary Member, Academy for the Study of the Psychoanalytic Arts.
• Honorary Member, Association Européenne de Psychanalyse.

Publications

• Pain and Pleasure: A Study of Bodily Feelings (New York: Basic Books, 1957); 2nd ed. (New York: Basic Books, 1975); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1988).
• The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct (New York: Hoeber-Harper, 1961); rev. ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1974).
• Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry: An Inquiry into the Social Uses of Mental Health Practices (New York: Macmillan, 1963); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1989).
• Psychiatric Justice (New York: Macmillan, 1965); with a new Afterword (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1988).
• The Ethics of Psychoanalysis: The Theory and Method of Autonomous Psychotherapy (New York: Basic Books, 1965); with a new Preface (New York: Basic Books/Harper Colophon, 1974); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1988).
• Ideology and Insanity: Essays on the Psychiatric Dehumanization of Man (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1970); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1991).
• The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement (New York: Harper & Row, 1970); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1997).
• The Second Sin (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1973).
• The Age of Madness: A History of Involuntary Mental Hospitalization Presented in Selected Text (Editor) (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1973).
• Ceremonial Chemistry: The Ritual Persecution of Drugs, Addicts, and Pushers (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1976); with a new Preface (Holmes Beach, FL: Learning Publications, 1985).
• Heresies (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1976).
• Karl Kraus and the Soul-Doctors: A Pioneer Critic and His Criticism of Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis (Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1976); reprinted as Anti-Freud: Karl Kraus and His Criticism of Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry, with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1990).
• Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry (New York: Basic Books, 1976); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1988).
• Psychiatric Slavery: When Confinement and Coercion Masquerade as Cure (New York: Free Press, 1977); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1997).
• The Theology of Medicine: The Political-Philosophical Foundations of Medical Ethics (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1977; New York: Harper Colophon, 1977); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1988).
• The Myth of Psychotherapy: Mental Healing as Religion, Rhetoric, and Repression (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1978); with a New Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1988).
• Sex by Prescription (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1980); in the United Kingdom: Sex: Facts, Frauds, and Follies (Oxford: Blackwell, 1981); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1990).
• L’incapace: Lo specchio morale del conformismo, translated by Cristina Frua De Angeli (Milano: Spirali/Vel, 1990).
• The Therapeutic State: Psychiatry in the Mirror of Current Events (New York: Prometheus Books, 1984).
• Insanity: The Idea and Its Consequences (New York: John Wiley, 1987); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1997).
• The Untamed Tongue: A Dissenting Dictionary (Illinois: Open Court, 1990).
• Our Right to Drugs: The Case for a Free Market (New York: Praeger, 1992); with a new Preface (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996).
• A Lexicon of Lunacy: Metaphoric Malady, Responsibility, and Psychiatry (New Jersey: Transaction Books, 1993).
• Cruel Compassion: Psychiatric Control of Society’s Unwanted (New York: John Wiley, 1994).
• (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996).
• The Meaning of Mind: Language, Morality, and Neuroscience (Connecticut: Praeger, 1996). (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996).
• Fatal Freedom: The Ethics and Politics of Suicide (Connecticut: Praeger, 1999). (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996).
• La Battaglia per la Salute, translated by Alessandra Guerra, Anna Spadafora, and Lidia Zanardi (Milano: Spirali, 2000).
• Pharmacracy: Medicine and Politics in America (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001). (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996).
• Liberation By Oppression: A Comparative Study of Slavery and Psychiatry (New Jersey: Transaction Books, 2002).
• Words to the Wise: A Medical-Philosophical Dictionary (New Jersey: Transaction Books, 2004).
• Faith in Freedom: Libertarian Principles and Psychiatric Practices (New Jersey: Transaction Books, 2004).
• Szasz Under Fire: The Psychiatric Abolitionist Faces His Critics, edited by Jeffrey A. Schaler (Illinois: Open Court, 2004).
• “My Madness Saved Me”: The Madness and Marriage of Virginia Woolf (New Jersey: Transaction Books, 2006).
• Coercion as Cure: A Critical History of Psychiatry (New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2007).
• The Medicalization of Everyday Life: Selected Essays (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2007).
• Antipsychiatry: Quackery Squared (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2009).
• And approximately 1,000 articles, book chapters, book reviews, and newspaper columns.