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 ORGANIZATIONS
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).
Antipsychitry: Quackery Squared (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2009).
And approximately 1,000 articles, book chapters, book reviews, and newspaper columns.
Back to Main: CCHR Co-founder Dr. Thomas Szasz Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus
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