The Myth of Mental Illness

The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct is a controversial book by Thomas Szasz. It is highly influential in the anti-psychiatry movement. In it, Szasz argues that mental illness is a social construct created by doctors. What psychiatrists label mental illness is in fact a deviation from the consensus reality, Szasz says.

The book extends the arguments of Szasz's paper The Myth of Mental Illness, first published in 1960. In it, Szasz argues that beliefs cannot be caused by brain disease, although such artifacts as visual defects can.

External links

• Text of the original paper The Myth of Mental Illness