A recent blog post at randi.org, "The Legacy of the Anti-Psychiatry Movement", by Dr. Steven Novella (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Novella), criticizes the late Dr. Szasz's role in "anti-psychiatry". Many libertarians, such as myself, tend to also be part of the "skeptical movement", i.e. skeptical of quackery. So when I came across this post at James "The Amazing" Randi's website, I became I little disconcerted. I value highly your input into libertarianism, but I also highly value the work of well known skeptics.
Just wondering if you have any thoughts about this blog post (or similar skeptical criticisms of much of Dr. Szasz's work)?
Randi, whom I admire greatly, should be pleased with Szasz's criticism of Laing's antipsychiatry movement. Laing wasn't really antipsychiatry (or anti-coercion) at all. Look up Szasz's critique.
Hi Sheldon,
ReplyDeleteA recent blog post at randi.org, "The Legacy of the Anti-Psychiatry Movement", by Dr. Steven Novella (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Novella), criticizes the late Dr. Szasz's role in "anti-psychiatry". Many libertarians, such as myself, tend to also be part of the "skeptical movement", i.e. skeptical of quackery. So when I came across this post at James "The Amazing" Randi's website, I became I little disconcerted. I value highly your input into libertarianism, but I also highly value the work of well known skeptics.
Just wondering if you have any thoughts about this blog post (or similar skeptical criticisms of much of Dr. Szasz's work)?
Richard G.
I'm not as acquainted with Szaz's work as Sheldon, but he was not part of the anti-psychiatry movement, in fact he was quite critical of them.
ReplyDeleteRandi, whom I admire greatly, should be pleased with Szasz's criticism of Laing's antipsychiatry movement. Laing wasn't really antipsychiatry (or anti-coercion) at all. Look up Szasz's critique.
ReplyDelete