tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1502332727845937105.post8543711982426678772..comments2024-03-05T00:35:33.495+01:00Comments on Different Thoughts: Psychiatry and politicsMarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16273435151682585281noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1502332727845937105.post-50055291719302496382009-07-21T13:49:51.439+02:002009-07-21T13:49:51.439+02:00People are judged "broken" by their bizz...People are judged "broken" by their bizzare behaviour . If too weak a financial or social status the broken person is sent to the repare factory. The repare factory that only makes crazy people. If/when the broken person is "functioning" sufficiently they come out of the factory. Very simple.Mark p.s.2https://www.blogger.com/profile/10529811159862096782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1502332727845937105.post-42595717896967418712009-07-20T14:50:23.373+02:002009-07-20T14:50:23.373+02:00Yeah, I took your remark, that it is our culture t...Yeah, I took your remark, that it is our culture that has to be held accountable for the harm psychiatry does, not psychiatry itself, and ended somehow up at this comparison - that Thomas Szasz has written <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Manufacture-Madness-Comparative-Inquisition-Movement/sim/0815604610/2" rel="nofollow">a whole book</a> about. So, no wonder my post here has its shortcomings...<br /><br />I think, one reason why we hesitate to make the comparison is that thinking about the Inquisition usually makes us shudder today. It seems the embodiment of inhumanity to us. Since we have moved beyond the belief system the Inquisition was part of, and are no longer participants but onlookers, we see the Inquisition's inhumanity a lot more clearly, than people whose thinking was controlled by the belief system of that era were able to do. People back then believed, that the Inquisition both protected society from evil, and saved the souls of those, who were the devil's allies. That is, that it actually was a beneficial institution. Another parallel...<br /><br />As I see it, today, we haven't abandoned belief systems as such. We just replaced the Christian belief system with the rational, scientific one. While every belief system needs its Inquisition...<br /><br />I wonder, what people will think of psychiatry, the moment humanity moves beyond the rational, scientific belief system. "Geez, how could they! How barbaric!"? Probably. Which doesn't mean, that this future era would have no belief system of its own, and thus no Inquisition...<br /><br />On another note, what I initially had in mind to write about was in how far psychiatry itself is or is not to blame for the harm it does. Well, that will be another post.<br /><br /><i>Institutional psychiatry is a continuation of the Inquisition. All that has really changed is the vocabulary and the social style. The vocabulary conforms to the intellectual expectations of our age: it is a pseudo-medical jargon that parodies the concepts of science. The social style conforms to the political expectations of our age: it is a pseudo-liberal social movement that parodies the ideals of freedom and rationality.</i> -Thomas SzaszMarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16273435151682585281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1502332727845937105.post-43619949209177314042009-07-20T05:52:31.175+02:002009-07-20T05:52:31.175+02:00Now you are onto a new topic: the history and role...Now you are onto a new topic: the history and role of psychiatry. A full response to that issue will need to wait until another time. You won't be surprised that I agree with parts, but also disagree with parts. Until the day when I get to this topic in more detail, however, let me state for the record that it's quite a stretch to say the practice of psychiatry stands as a replacement for the inquisition! I obviously can't dissuade you, but there are some weaknesses in the analogy (and you're going beyond analogy to contend it's serving the exact same purpose), to say the least.WillSpirithttp://willspirit.comnoreply@blogger.com