Correspondence P-R, 1980-1981

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22 July, 1980

Dr. Mark Perl, Director

Consultation-Liaison Service

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
The University of Texas

Health Science Center at Houston

Medical School

P O Box 20708 (77025)

6431 Fannin

Houston, TX 77030

Dear Dr. Perl:

The ASCLEPIUS Proceedings won't be ready until fall; £'m

about to take off for a month mn Great Britain.

The ultimate book which will be derived from the Proceedings

is a matter of several years in the future. However, Dr. Szasz and
I aren't editing it together; this is the standard procedure for all
our conferences, and the essays to be included in it are chosen by
the Fellows of The Institute for Humanistic Studies. If yours is
selected for that book, I shall be in touch with you again. |

We are still waiting for Ralph Raico's essay for the Proceedings,

but I hope to have it by fall.
All best wishes,

M. E. Grenander /_
Proféssor of English and Director,
The. titute for HumatiisticcStudies

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON

MEDICAL SCHOOL

Department of Psychiatry and Post Office Box 20708 (77025)
Behavioral Science 6431 Fannin

Houston, Texas 77030
(713) 792-5531

July 15, 1980

Professor M.E. Grenander, Director

The Institute for Humanistic Studies
1400 Washington Avenue

State University of New York at Albany
Albany, New York 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

As a participant at your April seminar "Asclepius at Syracuse:
Thomas Szasz, Libertarian Humanist" I am eagerly awaiting the
arrival of the Proceedings of Asclepius which, I understand,
will be available at a charge of $10.00. When do you antici-
pate the Proceedings to be available?

Professor Szasz mentioned that he was interested in incorporat-
ing my presentation, "Thomas Szasz Confronts Freud: Psycho-
analysis as Argumentum Ad Hominem," as a chapter in a book that
you and he are editing. I would be more than pleased to adapt
my paper as needed; do you have any information on the status
of this book?

Thank you for your aid in both of these matters.

Yours sincerely, ()
M.D

Mark Perl,
Director, Consultation-Liaison Service

MP :ml

ASCLEPIUS
AT SYRACUSE:

THOMAS SZASZ, LIBERTARIAN HUMANIST

17-19 April, 1980
Alumni House—Conference Center
State University of New York at Albany

May 9, 1989

Professor Perl.

Dear
We greatly apprectated your participation

in ASCLEPTHS. Enclosed is a photograph which

we hope will be a2 pleasant souvenir for yeu

of an occasion to whose success you contributed
significantly.

With all best wishes,

M. E. Grenander

All talks, including Keynote Address, are free and open to the public on a drop-in, space available basis. However, for full

pki co registration is strongly recommended. If you are interested in registering for ASCLEPIUS AT SYRACUSE, please
check below:

wu should like to register for the symposium. Enclosed is my check for $25 covering incidental expenses. | understand that
if my registration is received by you in time, my name will be listed in the program as a Conference Participant.

= tr
MAKE CHECK payable to SUNYA Foundation. Dr, MAR s, Pe Re
MAIL with this form to: D ta dete HiIAWNL TF
Professor M.E. Grenander, Direct ecigast oe [te dex At
E. , Director |
The Institute for Humanistic Studies iz len 1 tS. ror al f Zous a

State University of New York at Albany
Albany, NY 12222

PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT YOUR NAME (Institutional affiliation, if any)
AND ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE.

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON

MEDICAL SCHOOL

Department of Psychiatry and

Post Office Box 20708 (77025)
Behavioral Sciences

6431 Fannin
Houston, Texas 77030

March 13, 1980 (713) 792-5531

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
Albany, New York 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

Enclosed please find our paper, "Thomas Szasz Confronts Freud:
Psychoanalysis as Argumentum ad Hominem" which we are submitting
for presentation at the seminar in April.

I am looking forward to seeing you soon.

Sincerely, ‘|
YH,
Fah /é,

Mark Perl, M.B.B.S.
Assistant Professor of Psychaitry
Department of Psychiatry

dm
encl.

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON

MEDICAL SCHOOL

Department of Psychiatry and Post Office Box 20708 (77025)
Behavioral Sciences 6431 Fannin

Houston, Texas 77030
February 7, 1980 (713) 792-5531

Professor M.E. Grenander, Director

The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
Albany, N.Y. 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

Thank you for your letter of January 29, 1980. I was extremely pleased

to learn of the acceptance of my paper, "Thomas Szasz Confronts Freud:
Psychoanalysis as Argumentum Ad Hominen" at the forthcoming conference

in Albany, April, 1980. I will be able to submit the paper by the deadline
you have indicated. I look forward with much anticipation to this conference
and also will be looking forward to meeting you in person.

Please let me know of any other details as the conference approaches.

Yours SIL at

Mark Perl, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Department of Psychiatry

MP /dm

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON

MEDICAL SCHOOL

Department of Psychiatry and Post Office Box 20708 (77025)
Behavioral Sciences 6431 Fannin
November 12, 1979 Houston, Texas 77030

(713) 792-5531

| Professor M.E. Greenander, Director

| The Institute for Humanistic Studies

State University of New York at Albany
Albany, N.Y. 12222

Dear Professor Greenander:

Please find enclosed my abstract for the upcoming Symposium on
Thomas Szasz. I would be very interested in attending the Symposium
whether my paper is accepted or not. I trained with Dr. Szasz

in Syracuse and have a huge amount of admiration for his work.

Please let me know if you require any other information.

Thank you very much. I look forward to meeting you at the symposium.

Cfo, h
Mark Perl, Waa

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Department of Psychiatry |

Yours sincerely,

SYMPOSIUM:

ABSTRACT:

April 17-19, SUNY, Albany, N.Y.

Asclepius at Syracuse: Thomas Szasz, Libertarian Humanist

Psychoanalysis as Argumentum Ad Hominem: Thomas Szasz Confronts Freud

Mark Perl, M.B.B.S.

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

The Department of Psychiatry

The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Earl R. Gardner, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

The Department of Psychiatry

The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Devartment of English

February 2, 1980

M. & Grenander, Director

The Institute for Humanistic Studies
The University of New York at Albany
1400 Washington Ave.

Albany, N.Y. 12222

Dear Mr. Grenander,

In response to your letter of 29 Jamuary 1980, I
am interested in having vou include my proposal among
those in the reserve pool. I would very much like to
attend the conference; unfortunately, as I am presenting
two papers at other institutions during this academic
year, I would probably be able to attend only if I
am presenting a paver. Funds are, are you how, limited

sources for the two other conferances. Should you, at
a later date, wish to have me present my paper, I wovld
make the necessary arrangements with Keuka College.

. Thank you again for vour resvonse. It sounds like
a very interesting conference.

Sincerely yours,

Duly en (oy—

Dr. Walter Poznar

Dr. Walter Poznar
Dep't of English Keuka College
Keuka Park, N.Y. 14+78

MADNESS IN LITERATURE

Madness or mental illness in literature is frequently
portrayed as a heightened form of awareness dramatizing
fundamental questions about human nature and the meaning
of life. In Chekhov's short story, "Ward No. 6," this
awareness is nainfully expressed in a remarkable change
that takes ovlace in the central character, Dr. Ragin.
What he comes to understand about himself and life is a
tragic commentary on the superficiality of social norms
and the extent to which the individual's knowledge of
himself and life is distorted by conventional notions of
reality. Dr. Ragin's tragic fate underscores questions
about what we are that are dramatically articulated in
other literary works, like Garshin's "The Red Flower,"
questions that challenge both conventional postulates and
the assumptions about the self made by each individual.
The characters in these works expvress not abnormal behaviour
and concentions, but fundamental conditions of human exper-
ience normally muted or ignored by social assumptions and
value judgments. Without a mature awareness of these
questions and what they reveal of human nature, individualism
is impossible and life itself becomes little more than an

elaborate series of sophisticated but meaningless gestures.

Department of English

December 4, 1979

M. E. Grenander, Director

The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue

Albany, N.Y. 12222

Dear Mr. Grenander,

Attached is an abstract of the article I forwarded
and which you returned. Unfortunately, our library
does not carry the JOURNAL OF LIBERTARIAN STUDIES, but

IT kope to read your article. Thank you for your very
kind attention and time,

Sincerely yours,

[atte oo

Dr. Walter Pozgnar

Keuka Park, New York 14478

315-536-4411

Pee) k) Gacdrec
THOMAS SZASZ CONFRONTS FREUD: PSYCHOANALYSIS AS ARGUMENTUM AD HOMINEM

Thomas Szasz was trained in the psychoanalytic tradition and
his earlier writings reflect this viewpoint. (e.g., 1957, "Pain and Pleasure.")
By the mid-1950s. however, serious flaws were becoming evident in the whole
Freudian structure: in "The Concept of the Transference" (written with
Marc Hollander) ,Szasz dissected out and totally redefined one of its most
basic underpinnings. His writings since then show steady movement away from
the orthodox view. The publication of "The Myth of Mental Illness" (1961)
seems to have been a watershed event, signalling the end of any attempt at
reconciliation. Freud and his followers have since then been explicitly
criticized by Szasz, both on moral/political amon intellectual grounds.

This paper will examine the philosophical basis of Szasz's position vis-a-vis
psychoanalysis and "dynamic psychiatry." The key motif implicit in much of
his writing seems to be the following: Psychiatrists, and particularly
Freudians, flaunt one of the most elementary rules of logical discourse; they

engage repeatedly in argumentum ad hominem ("Argument to the Man") instead of

argumentum ad argumentum ("Argument to the Argument"). That is, when

confronted with an interlocutor (a patient, a political adversary, a wayward
colleague), traditional "dynamic" psychiatrists can skillfully evade re-
sponding to what the person is saying by labelling him/her as crazy. Being
"crazy" he/she is not worthy of serious consideration,and worse, is in need
of "treatment."

Freudian psychoanalysis can provide a very elaborate linguistic vehicle for
perpetrating the ad hominem argument, which also serves as its disguise.
Szasz breaks down this disguise for us in a number of ways. His paper on
"Drapetomania: The Running Away Disease of Slaves'' is in the best Nominalist
tradition. If one labels something, he may not have added anything at all

to knowledge, except a new word. Implied here is a criticism of much psychiatric

jargon, whereby a behavior which we disapprove of is labelled (preferably

in Greek or Latin), then the "concept" is reified as a "disease" or an
"unconscious process."

In "The Myth of Mental Illness" the Ryleian notion of a category error
is brought to bear on the concept of mental illness itself. By implication,
we may fault many "psychodynamic" concepts, for example, defense mechanisms,
conversion reactions. Karl Popper's influence is also felt in many of
Szasz's works. The concept of "unconscious psychic determinism" in
psychoanalysis, parallels the kind of historical determinism that Popper
has criticized. The irrefutibility of many Freudian contentions, voids, for
Szasz, any empirical meaning that such statements may have. What remains

is the political dangerousness of pseudoscience.

Mark Perl, MBBS

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Department of: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Medical School

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Earl R. Gardner, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of Texas Medical School at Houston

290 November, 1979

Dr. Walter Poznar
Department of English
Keuka Céllege ©

Keuka Park, NY 14478
Dear Dr. Poznar:

We've received the paper you recently submitted for consideration in

“ASCLEPTUS AT SYRACUSE: Thomas Szasz, Libertarian Humanist." Although it

looks interesting, our refereeing procedure is rather complicated, and at this

stage what we need is a short abstract. Could you please get a one-page
summary to me as soon as possible?
Because you may need this copy of your paper for other purposes, I

”

am returning it herewith. I am also enclosing a “Call for Papers’ for your
personal files, as well as programs for our earlier conferences, to give you
an idea of what we do. We will put you on our mailing list for future
Wnnouncements.

Incidentally, you might be interested in an article I wrote, "Of Graver

Import than History: Psychiatry in Fiction," Journal of Libertarian Studies,

2 (No. 1, 1978), 29-44.
Thank you for writing.

Yours sincerely,

M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies

MEG: jar
Enclosures 3

Department of English
November 14, 1979

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director

The Institute for Humanistic Studies

State University of New York at Albany

Albany, N.Y. 12222°

Dear Professor Grenander,

Fnelosed is a paner I am submitting for possible

presentation at the conference "Aesclepius at Syracuse,"
Thank you for your very kind attention and time.

Sincerely yours,

In Wilt Uren

Dr. Walter Poznar

27 March, 1980

Professor Richard Reilly
Department of Philosophy
Saint Bonaventure University
Saint Bonaventure, NY 14778
Dear Professor Reilly:
Dr. Grenander has asked me to write to you in response to your letter

of March 24, 1980.

Your curriculum vitae has heen forwarded to our Public Relations office.

Would you kindly send a copy of it to Professor Kekes, your moderator,
together with a copy of your abstract.
Tf I can be of any assistance in the future, please contact this office.

Yours truly,

j
(Mre.) Julie Ranford
Secretary to |
Dr. M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies

OAING
BONAVENTUNG
Univer SIDY Saint Bonaventure, New York 14778

Department of Philosophy (Y\a rch Ad } ( 1 §?

Pirvfecanr ME. Crenandu, Quetn
Tle Anette (a Nemanicte Chedeis
[temandibe AEY

Stele Unevecady § Mbsr zork af Abin
/7O0 0 toohing lo Qrentie_.
Albans Mew orl (AQ2L

QA IV Crenander -

Irn lerel os my prequahton, ye fa Tle
ASCLE PIOUS Confewner .

lola fen bund yoreed fo Reaperaa,

All talks, including Keynote Address, are free and open to the public on a drop-in, space available basis. However, for full

ee registration is strongly recommended. If you are interested in registering for ASCLEPIUS AT SYRACUSE, please
check below:

C) I should like to register for the symposium. Enclosed is my check for $25 covering incidental expenses. | understand that
if my registration is received by you in time, my name will be listed in the program as a Conference Participant.

MAKE CHECK payable to SUNYA Foundation

MAIL with this form to: ti haya el

) —pspiaedeatdl isha sept

Professor M.E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany

Albany, NY 12222 of. ats vceaeeh Ney APD I

PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT YOUR NAME ~~ (Institutional affiliation, if any)
AND ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE.

OOING
BONAVENTUNG
Univensidy Saint Bonaventure, New York 14778

Department of Philosophy March 13, 1980

Professor M.E. Grenander, Director

The Institute for Humanistic Studies
Humanities 284

State University of New York at Albany
Albany, NY 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

Enclosed is my paper "Legal Responsibility and Mental Illness" for
the ASCLEPIUS program.

I shall be in California fvom 25 March - 8 April. Therefore, I have
enclosed a second copy of my paper along with a brief vitae. Might
you kindly forward this material to the moderator of my paper?
(Otherwise, I should be happy to do so upon my return after 9 April).

Again, I'm looking forward to what promises to be an exciting con-
ference.

Sincerely yours,

‘ . WA Py,

Richard Reilly, Chairman

7 February, 1980

Professor Richard Reilly, Chairman
Department of Philosophy

Saint Bonaventure University

Saint Bonaventure, NY 14778

Dear Professor Reilly:

We're glad you can participate in ASCLEPIUS. With regard to your
questions,

(1) We prefer, if you don't mind, retaining your Original title:
"Moral Responsibility and Mental Illness." Our experience has
been that audiences respond better to a title that isn't too
cumbersome. Moreover, in Szasz's usage, “mental illness" and
"mental disease" don't mean quite the same thing. _

(2) Unfortunately, my memorandum was ambiguous. We have no funds
--alasi--for board and room. However, your registration fee will
cover a couple of meals.

We look forward to seeing you in April.

Sincerely, J}
‘ ‘ i
~ *y mh ys A a }
LAE © vht ELF Rf Zz
M. E. Grenander
Director

OAINT
BONAVENTUNG
Univensidy Saint Bonaventure, New York 14778

February 5, 1989

Department of Philosophy

Professor M.E. Grenander, Director

The Institute for Humanistic Studies
Humanities 284

State University of New York at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue

Albany, New York 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

It is an honor to be included on the program for your forth-
coming conference on ''ASCEPELIUS AT SYRACUSE: Thomas Szasz, liber-
tarian Humanist."' The guidlines for the preparation of papers are

acceptable, and I shall receive reimbursement for travel expenses
from St. Bonaventure University.

I do have two requests. My original title was "Moral Responsi-
bility and Mental Illness;" a somewhat more comprehensive title you
may wish to consider is, "Moral Blameworthiness, Legal Responsibility,
and Mental Disease."' Secondly, might you indicate what (if any)

financial support covering room and board is available for program
participants.

I am eagerly awaiting what promises to be an extraordinarily
interesting conference; and, I look forward to meeting you personally,

Respectfully yours,

bus

Richard Reilly
Professor and Chairman

ABSTRACT: "MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

Most recent thought on the insanity plea has focused on which of

the alternative "rules* being adopted in various U.S. jurisdictions
better defines legal insanity or, at least, best allows for the
introduction and evaluation of psychiatric testimony for the pur-
pose of rendering a decision in cases where insanity is at issue.

It is Professor Thomas Szasz's assessment, however, that ''Neither

the M'Naghten rule nor the Durham rule nor the American Law Institute
rule is ‘humanitarian,’ for all diminish personal responsibility

and thus impair human dignity; nor is any of them 'liberal,' for
none promotes individual freedom under the rule of law" (Ideology
and Insanity, p. 111). Although it appears disconcerting, I think
that Professor Szasz's assessment is largely correct. Upon analyz-
ing the insanity rules, and the alleged relationships between

“mental disease" and "moral responsibility," I attempt both to clari-
fy and develop the grounds for considering the legal function of

the concept of ''mental Disease" to be ideological rather than explan-
atory.

My essentail line of argument is as follows. There are three con-
ditions which legitimately excuse one from moral responsibility:
external coercion, compulsion (for which one is not responsible

even indirectly), and non-culpable ignorance. A basically Aristotelian
analysis of the latter two conditions is outlined prior to the
examination of the insanity rules. The logic of M'Naughten is that
if a criminal act is done by one who does not know right from wrong
as a result of a disease of the mind, then it amounts to an act done
from non-culpable ignorance, hence the agent is not morally blameable
and so does not deserve punishment. The so-called "irresistable-
impulse" rule is similar: if one commits a criminal act which he is
unable to resist doing as a result of a mental disease, it amounts

to an act done under compulsion, hence.... The American Law Institute
rule essentially combines the above two. In each of the above rules,
"mental disease" functions as a necessary condition for one's being
legally insane, i.e., not liable to punishment. But this appears
arbitrary since clearly "mental disease" is not a necessary. condition
for an act to be due to non-culpable ignorance or to compulsion, either
of which, from the moral point of view, is suffictént- grounds to
excuse one from blame. So, why should mental disease alone function
in criminal law as a basis for excuse? Under Durham perplexity is
compounded, for in this case that an act is a product of a mental
disease is sufficient to establish insanity and, hence, that one is
not liable to punishment. But why should we assume that an act that
is a product of a mental disease is necessarily one which is done
either in ignorance or under compulsion, that is,is an act for which
one is not morally (hence, legally) responsible? Since, as yet, we
have no grounds for thinking that the concept of "mental disease" is
either a necessary or a sufficient condition for one's not being
blameworthy for his acts, we must agree with Professor Szasz's view
that its legal function is ideological rather than explanatory.

Richard Reilly
Professor of Philosophy
St. Bonaventure University

CAINE
BONAVENTUNG
UNIVENsIDY Saint Bonaventure, New York 14778

November 13, 1979

Department of Philosophy

Professor M.E. Gendander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York, Albany
Albany, New York 12222

Near Professor Grendander:

I was delighted to see notice of your planned conference, "ASCLEPIUS
AT SYRACUSE: Thomas Szasz, Libertarian Humanist, It promises to be
an exciting and stimulating event.

Enclosed is an abstract of a paper, "Moral Responsibility and
Mental Illness," which I respectfully request be considered for
inclusion in your program. As my vita documents, I have spent the
last ten years doing research in the area of moral psychology and
ethics, with emphasis on weakness of will, freedom of will, and

the concept of person, Recently, I have been interested in related
areas in the philosophy of law, chiefly the justification of par-
ticular kinds of punishment and criteria of legal responsibility.
My whole focus on legal responsibility, and more so on legal in-
Sanity, has been influenced by the work of Thomas $zasz. This
occured as a result of Professor Szasz's appearance at St. Bonaventure

in the Spring of 1975 which was partly sponsored by the Philosophy
Department. |

I shall appreciate whatever consideration you-are able to give to
my paper, ''Moral Responsibility and Mental Illness." In any event,
best wishes for a successful conference.

Y s sineerely,
hart Dat

Richard Reilly, Chairman
Professor of Philosophy

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

Research Articles & Papers
Richard Reilly

Dissertation (U.C. Santa Barbara; advisor: Professor
Alexander Sesonske): "The Possibility of Weakness
of Will; An Essay in The Metaphysics and Psychology
of Morals."

"Reason and Action,'' Proceedings of the Creighton
Club, Fall 1973.

"Weakness of Will: The Thomistic Advance," Proceedings
of the American Catholic Philosophical Association;
XLVIII. (1974) , 198-207.

"Socrates' Moral Paradox,'' read to the American
Philosophical Association (Pacific Division),
Spring 1975. Published in The Southwestern Journal
of Philosophy, VIII (1977), 101-107.

"Love, Harmony, and Moral Theory: A Reply to Professor
Kalin;'' Creighton Club (New York State Philosophical
Association), Fall 1975.

"Weakness and Blameworthiness: The Aristotelian
Predicament ,'' Philosophical Studies (Ire.).
XXIV, (1976), 148-165.

"Free Will and Practical Reason," Proceedings
of the American Catholic Philosophical Association,
L, (1976), 51-59.

"Self-Deception: Resolving the Epistemological
Paradox,'' The Personalist, 57 (1976), 391-394.

"Moral Weakness, " The International Philosophical
Quarterly, 16 (1977), 167-178.

"The Problem of Weakness of Will in Literature,"

(with John Mulryan), St. .Bonaventure University,
Fall 1978.

"Review Article: A. Kenny, Will, Freedom, and
Power" in Philosophical Studies, (ire.), XXVI

(1978) , 219-227.

"Personal Responsibility and Public Policy,"
delivered to Cogito, University College Cork,
Spring, 1978.

1979

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)
(17)

(18)
(19)

(20)

| (21)

"Why Imprisonment is Indefensible on Retributivist
Grounds," completed under a St. Bonaventure Univer-
sity Research Grant, 1978, and under consideration
for publication in The Monist.

"Will and the Concept of a Person," Proceedings of
the American Catholic Philosophical Association,LIII

(1979).

"Plato and Augustine on Human Weakness," Cithara,
18 (1979), 48-67.

"Ts Marxist Theory Consistent With Free-Will?"
IN PROGRESS
"Recent Studies in Aristotelian Ethics, " scheduled

for publication in Philosophical Studies, XXVIII
(1980).

"Ifs and Cans: The Case for a Libertarian Analysis,"
completed in draft form.

"Law and Moral Autonomy: Professor Wolff's False
Dilemma."

Will, Selfhood, and Identity. This 250 page manuscript
is complete in draft form and includes slightly altered
versions of material previously published as well as
the substance of my sabbatical research at University
College Cork during the Spring of 1978.

"Insanity Rules, Moral Responsibility, and the Rationale
of Punishment."

ABSTRACT: "MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

Most recent thought on the insanity plea has focused on which of

the alternative "rules’ being adopted in various U.S. jurisdictions
better defines legal insanity or, at least, best allows for the
introduction and evaluation of psychiatric testimony for the pur-
pose of rendering a decision in cases where insanity is at issue.

It is Professor Thomas Szasz's assessment, however, that "Neither

the M'Naghten rule nor the Durham rule nor the American Law Institute
rule is 'humanitarian,' for all diminish personal responsibility

and thus impair human dignity; nor is any of them ‘liberal,' for
none promotes individual freedom under the rule of law" (Ideology
and Insanity, p. 111). Although it appears disconcerting, I think
that Professor Szasz's assessment is largely correct. Upon analyz-
ing the insanity rules, and the alleged relationships between

"mental disease" and "moral responsibility," I attempt both to clari-
fy and develop the grounds for considering the legal function of

the concept of "mental Disease" to be ideological rather than explan-
atory.

My essentail line of areument is ag follows. There are three con-
ditions which legitimately excuse one from moral responsibility:
external coercion, compulsion (for which one is not responsible

even indirectly), and non-culpable icnorance. A basically Aristotelian
analysis of the latter two conditions is outlined prior to the
examination of the insanity rules. The logic of M'Naughten is that

if a criminal act is done by one who does not know right from wrong

as a result of a disease of the mind, then it amounts to an act done
from non-culpable ignorance, hence the agent is not morally blameable
and so does not deserve punishment. The so-called "irresistable-
impulse” rule is similar: if one commits a criminal act which he is
unable to resist doing as a result of a mental disease, it amounts

to an act done under compulsion, hence.... The American Law Institute
rule essentially combines the above two. In each of the above rules,
"mental disease" functions as a@ necessary condition for one's being
legally insane, i.e., not liable to punishment. But this appears
arbitrary since clearly "mental disease" is not a necessary condition
for an act to be due to non-culpable ignorance or to compulsion, either
of which, from the moral point of view, is sufficiént grounds to
excuse one from blame. So, why should mental disease alone function
in criminal law as a basis for excuse? Under Durham perplexity is
compounded, for in this case that an act is a product of a mental
disease is sufficient to establish insanity and, hence, that one is
not liable to punishment. But why should we assume that an act that
is a product of a mental disease is necessarily one which is done
either in ignorance or under compulsion, that is,is an act for which
one is not morally (hence, legally) responsible? Since, as yet, we
have no grounds for thinking that the concept of "mental disease" is
either a necessary or a sufficient condition for one's not being

that its legal function is ideological rather than explanatory.

Richard Reilly
Professor of Philosophy
St. Bonaventure University

30 October, 1981

Professor Larry \.
Department of Europ anguages and Literature
Moore Hall 470 ;

1890 East-West Road
Honolulu, HI 96822

Dear Professor Riggs:

I hope this finds you feeling much better; I was sorry to learn
of your ill health.

Bibliographical informaktt@onon your contribution is as follows:

"The Therapeutic Ideal and the Inquisitorial Self: Moliére's

Misanthrope and Beckett's Endgame," Proceedings, ASCLEPIUS AT
SYRAUGSE: Thomas Szasz, L rtarian Humanist, comp. M. E. Gre-

Nander (Albany, N¥: The Institute for Humanistic Studies, 1981),
Ir P) 273-81.

The ASCLEPIUS Proceedings have been cited in the ISI series and
will be cited in the MLA annual bibliography; individual contri-
butions are listed separately.

You can obtain a copy by making out a check for $10.00 to "SUNYA
FOUNDATION" and mailing it to me.

seen A
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M. E. Grenander
Professor of English

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University of Hawaii at Manoa = —-__

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Department of European Languages and Literature
Moore Hall 470 e 1890 East-West Road e Honolulu, Hawaii 96822

Cable Address: UNIHAW
October 6, 1981

The Institute for Humanistic Studies
SUNY, Albany
Albany, NY 12222

Unfortunately, I don't know the new director's name, so I must address my-
self to the Institute collectively, I was a participant in the Thomas Szasz con-

ference in April, 1980, and I would like to have a copy of the Proceedings of

that conference, I am sure that information regarding acquisition of the

Proceedings has been distributed, but I have spent much of this year ill and

in the hospital, so I have not received it. Please let me know whether and how
I can obtain a copy, Also, please let me know the volume and pages in which my
contribution appears, I am preparing a promotion application, and need complete

bibliographical information on all my publications,

Thank you very much for your help, The title of my paper is "Therapeutic

Ideal and Inquisitorial Self: Moliese and Beckett",

Sincerely,

Larry W. Riggs

ya Win.
/ A

/ °

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Department of European Languages and Literature
Moore Hall 470 e 1890 East-West Road e Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Cable Address: UNIHAW

June 2, 1980

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
SUNY, Albany

Dear Professor Grenander:

This is just a--somewhat belated--note to reiterate my thanks for the ops
portunity to participate in another excellent conference. Asclepius was really
the highlight of my academic year, and is giving impetus to my summer research
and writing efforts. The conference as a whole was very pleasant and stimu-
lating, and I made several especially interesting contacts with people whose
interests closely parallel mine. I found Dr. Szasz's style of participation
humanistic in the best sense. It is always inspiring to meet real human beings
with high intellectual standards. I look forward to receiving the prospectus

for next year and hope that the Institute will be able to maintain the ex-

Cellence it achieved under your directorship. Thank you again.

a n
\Very/ds
eee 2 incerely,

rma

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Department of European Languages and Literature
Moore Hall 470 e 1890 East-West Road e Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Cable Address: UNIHAW

March 27, 1980

Dear Professor Grenander:

Thank you very much for your good wishes and for your patience. I'm sure
that the paper will arrive *Y April 1. I had finished typing it before I
noticed that you had shortened the title for the Program. Please feel
free to use the shorter title. I hope my having used the longer one won't
be noticeable,

I am recovering pretty well from my injuries and am looking forward to
the trip to Albany. I still have a rather sore neck--not helped by the
typing! --but that is expected to improve gradually. The scars on my fore-
head are shrinking nicely, according to the doctor. Enough unappetizing de-
tails! I am sending off the abstract and c.v. to Professor Maclean, so
everything is in order, I think,

Again, thank you for your kindness,

Singerely / A
4, j
HH) tA. 7 WI 4

, iff
Larry Wf Riggs/ ,

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Department of European Languages and Literature
Moore Hall 470 e 1890 East-West Road e Honolulu, Hawaii 96822

Cable Address: UNIHAW
March 13, 1980

Professor M.E, Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
SUNY, Albany

Albany, NY 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

Enclosed please find my check to cover the registration fee for "Asclepius",
I have my new glasses as of today, and am functioning at full speed again, The
rest of my materials for the conference will be ready ina few days.

Layry W. Riggs
C /, { 4\ EA
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;

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

March 11, 1980

M.E. Grenander, Director Honolulu, HI
The Institute for Humanistic Studies

SUNY at Albany

Albany, NY 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

I'm writing to ask whether it would be possible for you to
give me a few days' "grace" for submission of the completed version
of my paper for "Asclepius". My work has been set back by an auto
accident in which I suffered a severe concussion and assorted cuts
and bruises. I'm apparently recovering well now, but am still ham-
pered by the lack of my glasses, which were smashed in the accident.
A new pair is scheduled to be ready this week. Two colleagues filled
in at course sessions during my absence, but, of course, a mountain
of papers awaited me when I returned. In my "spare time" I've been
filing insurance claims, listening to very muddy clarifications of
no-fault laws and learning the bus schedule. Our only car was a
total loss. I shall send you all of the required material for the
conference immediately and will get the final version of the paper in
the mail, “special delivery", or whatever is fastest, as soon as pos-
sible. I am looking forward more than ever to the conference. I hope

that I won't be inconveniencing you. Thank you.

OpiAcerery.
oo (hyo
Riggs

H
Larry W.
/ a rl ;
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© fa hs ‘ea. oe A me) Gf
wo? # Ff a Lf ow gore “ gAf Let e £ v4] &.. sors “af es rex Pe Ge, FF el
f Ri

URGENT

21 February
(1) Larry Riggs telephoned today to say that he had got the second
notice, but that this was the first one he had received.

He will participate in ASCLEPIUS.

bs However, Since he did not get the first notice, he does not
have the set of instructions. Therefore send him a set of
instructions; if we don't have an extra, you will have to get
a set xeroxed.

(3) Then file this memorandum in ASCLEPIUS SPEAKERS YES.

THE THERAPEUTIC IDEAL AND THE INQUISITORIAL SELF:

Deel ea O MOLIERE'S MISANTHROPIST AND BECKETT'S ENDGAME

Larry W. Riggs

Dr. Szasz's separation of conversation and categorization as modes of
relationship and his examination of the inquisitorial structure of modern
psychiatric therapeutics can usefully illuminate the humanistic intentions of
Moliére and Samuel Beckett as critics of "institutionalized" intellect and
moral perception. Szasz sees the shift from a theological to a scientistic
justification for forcible inquiry into human motivation as an accnidp lishment
of seventeenth-century European culture, and ¢he points out that contemporary
bureaucratic psychiatry employs most of the techniques from the Inquisitors'
"armamentarium". The comic scrutiny of intellect, language and role in Moliére's
and Beckett's plays seems intended to make the spectator aware that language--
and, aS a consequence, thought and behavior--can harden into a fixed system of
repetitive exchanges and impenetrably "solid" definitions. These dramatists seem
to agree with Szasz that language must serve perception by constantly seeking
a balance between the promulgation of useful conventions and maintenance of the
capacity to absorb novelty.

Moliére represents the seventeenth-century French humanism that exposes
the dangerous combination of language and power in a civilization that has
learned to define life as a collection of problems and to charter specialized

institutions to deal with them. In The Misanthropist, Alceste's inquisitorial

condemnation of everyone else as “insincere" reflects the tendency, spoken of
by Szasz, to see humanity in terms of a secular "Manicheanism". Beckett's
Endgame takes up the logic of reductive therapeutics--or problem-solving
moralism--where Moliére left it: Hamm's effort to eliminate the difficulties

of life has led him to choose general annihilation as the appropriate therapy.

Both playwrights focus, then, on the mutual destructiveness of individuals
who practice categorization--or the ratification of roles--rather than conver-
sation--or humane learning. Szasz's contention that the language and practices
of much of modern psychiatry reflect the "underground" presence of the Inquisi-
tion in our moral and political relationships is a useful critical perception.
Its application to Moliére and Beckett illuminates their plays, provides an
opportunity to sharpen Szasz's cultural critique, and helps to break down

the anti-humanistic categorizations that prevent communication between artists

and scientists.

Larry W. Riggs
University of Hawaii, Manoa

Ass't Prof of French

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Department of European Languages and Literature
Moore Hall 470 e 1890 East-West Road e Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Cable Address: UNIHAW

Nov. 14, 1979

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
The State Univ. of New York, Albany
Albany, NY 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

Enclosed please find the manuscript and a copy of my abstract for the
"Asclepius at Syracuse” conference. I hope that your selection committee
will find it interesting and relevant to your plans for April. I find some
very fertile continuities between Dr. Szasz's work and the themes that emerged
at the"Apollo Agonistes" conference. My research into the development of
institutionalization as an intellectual and linguistic "technology", as well
assconerete social and political fact has been helpfully influenced by Dr.
Szasz. Many of his concepts and perceptions have contributed to my know-
ledge of where and how to look in literature for evidence of the cultural
processes that I am trying to define and trace.

I look forward to hearing your opinion of the proposal, and hope to be

a participant in another well-conceived, well-organized and fascinating con-

ference.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

THE THERAPEUTIC IDEAL AND THE INQUISITORIAL SELF:

Deda MOLIERE'S MISANTHROPIST AND BECKETT'S ENDGAME

Larry W. Riggs

Dr. Szasz's separation of conversation and categorization as modes of
relationship and his examination of the inquisitorial structure of modern
psychiatric therapeutics can usefully illuminate the humanistic intentions of
Moliére and Samuel Beckett as critics of “institutionalized" intellect and
moral perception. Szasz sees the shift from a theological to a scientistic
justification for forcible inquiry into human motivation as an accnqplishment
of seventeenth-century European culture, and the points out that contemporary
bureaucratic psychiatry employs most of the techniques from the Inquisitors'
"armamentarium". The comic scrutiny of intellect, language and role in Moliére's
and Beckett's plays seems intended to make the spectator aware that language--
and, aS a consequence, thought and behavior--can harden into a fixed system of
repetitive exchanges and impenetrably "solid" definitions. These dramatists seem
to agree with Szasz that language must serve perception by constantly seeking
a balance between the promulgation of useful conventions and maintenance of the
capacity to absorb novelty.

institutions to deal with them. In The Misanthropist, Alceste's inquisitorial

condemnation of everyone else as "insincere" reflects the tendency, spoken of
by Szasz, to see humanity in terms of a secular "Manicheanism". Beckett's
Endgame takes up the logic of reductive therapeutics--or problem-solving
-moralism--where Moliére left it: Hamm's effort to eliminate the difficulties

of life has led him to choose general annihilation as the appropriate therapy.

‘opportunity to sharpen Szasz's cultural critique, and helps to break down
the anti-humanistic categorizations that prevent communication between artists

and scientists.

Larry W. Riggs
University of Hawaii, Manoa

Ass't Prof of French

GRACE ROBINSON, Ph. D.
35 East 85TH STREET
New York,N.Y. 10028

861-2610

August 18, 1980

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue

Albany, New York 12222

Dear M.E.,
I am delighted that the Proceedings for "ASCLEPI1US

AT SYRACUSE" are being prepared and I'm enclosing
my check for $10 for a copy.

Some of the pleasant “after glow" of that conference
remains with me still, as I hope it does with you.
I hope you are having a good summer. I plan to be
in Montreal later this month at the annual meeting
of the American Psychological Association and I'm
looking forward to that visit, my first to Montreal.

My best, as always,

Mace _

Enclosure

GRACE ROBINSON, Ph. D.
35 EAstT 857TH STREET
New YorK,N.Y. 10028

861-2610

May 17, 1980

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue

Albany, New York 12222

Dear M.E.,

Many thanks for sending the photographs taken at
Asclepius. I'm delighted to have them, and they
reminded me of much of the pleasure I had in being
with you and participating in the conference.

Jim certainly deserves our gratitude for all his
work in taking these excellent photos. I hope you
will pass along my thanks, and I am so pleased that
he is in good health and has not had a repetition
of last year's misfortune.

Thank you both, and I'm sure we'll be in touch
again soon.

Best,

ASCLEPIUS
AT SYRACUSE:

THOMAS SZASZ, LIBERTARIAN HUMANIST

17-19 April, 1980
Alumni House—Conference Center
State University of New York at Albany

May 9, 1980

Dear Grace,

We greatly appretiated your participation
in ASCLEPIUS. Enclosed are some photographs
which we hope will be a pleasant souvenir for
you of an occasion to whose success you

contributed significantly.

With all best wishes,

M. E. Grenander

GRACE ROBINSON, Ph. D.
35 East 85TH STREET
New York,N.Y. 10028

861-2610

May 5, 1980

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue

Albany, New York 12222

Dear M. E.,

A brief note to thank you for sending the Szasz article
you wrote for the Civil Liberties Review - and the
other material also. I am eager to get into all of it.

It was thoughtful of you to take the time to make the
Szasz article conform to your original manuscript, and
I'm especially pleased to have it.

I hope you are quite rested from all the strenuous
activities of Asclepius, and still enjoying its success.

All the best,

hae

> a*e
.
a ,
. .

GRACE ROBINSON, Ph. D.
35 East 85TH STREET
New York,N.Y. 10028

861-2610

April 23, 1980

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue

Albany, New York 12222

Dear M. E.,

Now that we have met at last, I hope you share my view that
only first names (or initials) will do.

I want to thank you again for giving me the pleasure of
joining in the celebration of Tom Szasz's birthday. And
you are to be congratulated for the clear success of
Asclepius. It can't be easy to put on a conference of such
complexity and scope, but you managed to do it, all the
while making it appear to be "all in a day's work."

I find that I don't have a copy of the fine piece you wrote
about Tom and his work for the Civil Liberties Review a few
years ago. (I have the subsequent issue with your comments
and mine, but not your original article). If you have an
extra copy, I'd appreciate it if your secretary could send
one to me. But I really don't want to put you or your
secretary to any trouble so this request is made only if

it doesn't inconvenience you in any way.

I hope Asclepius will prove to be the first of many meetings
for us.

With all good wishes,

[eee ‘all-talks, including Keynote Address, are free and open to the public on a drop-in, space available basis. However, for full
sade Seat registration is strongly recommended. If you are interested in registering for ASCLEPIUS AT SYRACUSE, please
check below:

KX | should like to register for the symposium. Enclosed is my check for $25 covering incidental expenses. | understand that
if my registration is received by you in time, my name will be listed in the program as a Conference Participant.

MAKE CHECK payable to SUNYA Foundation.

MAIL with this form to: Dr. Grace Robinson
35 East 85th Street
Professor M.E. Grenander, Director New York, NY 10028

The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
Albany, NY 12222

PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT YOUR NAME (Institutional affiliation, if any)
AND ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE.

GRACE ROBINSON, Ph. D.
35 East 857 STREET
New YorRK,N.Y. 10028

861-2610

March 11, 1980

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
state University of New York at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue

Albany, New York 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:
Enclosed are the following:

1) A copy of the paper I will be presenting at
the conference, "ASCLEPIUS AT SYRACUSE: Thomas Szasz,
Libertarian Humanist," in Albany, April 17-19. I
believe it has been typed in accordance with your
instructions as to margins, etc. I have not included
a bibliography, although, of course, I have one for
my files.

2) A title page (page one of the paper) which
includes an abstract of 14 lines.

3) An extra copy of the title page for your
Public Relations Department, which includes my
address and telephone number.

I hope everything is in order, but please let me know
if anything else is needed. I am looking forward to
seeing you at the conference.

Cordially,

Enclosures

GRACE ROBINSON, Ph. D.
35 EAst 857 STREET
New York,N.Y. 10028

861-2610

February 4, 1980

Professor M. E, Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
Albany, New York 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

I am delighted to be a participant in the
"Asclepius at Syracuse: Thomas Szasz, Li
Humanist," in Albany April 17-19. This b
to let you know that I accept the conditi
tion described in your letter of January

I assume that the title of my paper has n
since there was no reference to a new tit
letter to me. If this is not the case, lI
will let me know.

conference on
bertarian

rief letter is
ons of participa-
29, 1980.

ot been changed,
le in your
am sure you

I hope you have recovered completely from your recent
surgery, and I look forward to seeing you at the

conference.

Cordially,

Lo a)
of Z. : Be Mnf) ,
he Ay Za. oe. ys —_——s COT |

GRACE ROBINSON, Ph. D.
35 East 85TH STREET
New YorRk,N.Y. 10028

861-2610

THOMAS SZASZ - A MAN FOR OUR

This paper presents the thesis that the t
Szasz over the last 20 years relating to the m
and psychiatric treatment and to the concept o

TIME

heories developed by
yths of mental illness
f autonomy and respon-

sibility in personal conduct are of special significance in our lives

today.

A brief historical overview of the last h
the impact on our lives and our problems in li
major socioeconomic and political changes, suc
of the 1930's, World War II and the Viet Nam W
growth in technology, the contamination of the
The point is made that these events and condit
dehumanize and devalue the individual, to rest
and to violate his constitutional liberties.
about the "runaway forces of technology," for
conference recently sponsored by the Humanitie
University of Michigan's College of Engineerin
under discussion was "Technology and Pessimism
the Decline of Technology's Image",New York Ti

alf-century describes
ving of some of the

h as the Great Depression
ar, the unprecendented
environment, and so on.
ions have tended to
rict his free choices,
The mounting concern
example, led to a

s Department of the

£ in which the subject

" ("Scholars Confront

1979).

mes, November 6,

Analysis is made of the psychological imp
of major changes in- the way he lives, as his p
an unparalleled complexity and his freedom for
shrinks alarmingly. Further discussion descri
increasing use of the concept of "helplessness
"impersonation of illness" in coping with seem
problems in living. This behavior has led men
increasingly that the state and psychiatry tak
solve their problems. The Welfare State that
text has been called a disaster, and the Thera
emerged uses fraud and coercion to enslave us
psychiatry.

In conclusion, the paper discusses the on
Psychiatry, in relation particularly to theori
Ernest Becker, and others, and formulates idea
therapy (or iatrologic, to use Szasz's fine wo
can do to help men and women cope more effecti
with their problems in living.

(Dr. Robinson is a distinguished psychother

for more than 25 years.)

act on the individual
roblems in living reach
decision-making

bes the individual's
"and the notion of
ingly overwhelming

and women to demand

e care of them and
developed in this con-
peutic State that has
to the tyranny of

going Revolution in
es advanced by §$zasz,
Ss about what psycho-

rd) is and what it
vely and less painfully

aApist who has practiced

GRACE ROBINSON, Ph. D.
35 EAsTt 857TH STREET
New York,N.Y. 10028

861-2610

November 14, 1979

Professor M. E. Grenander, Director
The Institute for Humanistic Studies
State University of New York at Albany
Albany, New York 12222

Dear Professor Grenander:

I am so pleased to be in touch with you again, and particularly in
connection with the celebration of Thomas Szasz's sixtieth birthday.

Although I received your announcement calling for papers some time ago,
my delay in submitting my proposal was not occasioned by any reluctance
on my part to participate but by the need to fulfill a previous com-
mitment. As a result, I hope to make your deadline by sending my
proposal special delivery. I hope it arrives in time and that my
delay has not inconvenienced you in any way.

My paper is entitled "Thomas Szasz - A Man For Our Time." As you see,
it discusses Szasz's theories relating to man's problems in living,
personal autonomy and responsibility, and the myths of "mental illness"
and "psychiatrict treatment." Since I am a clinical psychologist and
have practiced psychotherapy for more than 25 years, with my conceptual
orientation firmly grounded in Szaszian theories, it is only logical
that my paper should deal with the importance of Szasz's theories for
psychology and psychotherapy in our time.

It surely goes without saying that I welcome any comments or suggestions
you may wish to make, and I look forward to hearing from you.

With all good wishes,

’

Cordially,

Enclosure

PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIOLOGY
AND THOMAS SZASZ
Transmogrifier,

Traditionalist, and Translator

JEROME RABOW

University of California, Los Angeles

What hath Thomas Szasz wrought? He has been published and
assessed in the leading popular and middle-of-the-road maga-
zines and press (Friedenberg, 1965; Lomas, 1970; Szasz, 1964).
He has been seized on by the intellectual organs of the right
(Brudnoy, 1970) and of the left (Teplitz, 1965); his work has
been examined by psychiatrists (Lomas, 1970; Teplitz, 1965;
Moss, 1968), sociologists (Friedenberg, 1965; Henslin, 1971;
Halnos, 1962), psychoanalysts (Lomas, 1970; Storr, 1970), and
a philosopher (Morris, 1971); and some of his books and essays
have been utilized in major legal actions involving the rights of
mental patients (Petitioner’s Brief, O'Connor, 1972). The fame
and attention given to Szasz has, however, been mixed. His
reception in the world of psychiatry has ranged from coolness
(Teplitz, 1965), to downright hostility for the alleged suppres-

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This article was supported by a UCLA Aca-
demic Senate Grant. It has benefited from the comments of Raymond
Friedman, Michael Goldstein, Cynthia Hollos, Donald Light, Judith
Lorber, Melvin Seeman, Carol Weinstein, Maxine White, and Lynne
Zucker. Jorja J. Manos gave it an important critical reading in its
early stages. A shorter version was read at the annual meeting of the
Society for the Study of Social Problems, 1977, Chicago.

316

Rabow / PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIOLOGY AND SZASZ 317

sion of evidence in his selected presentation of historical
materials (Glaser, 1965).!

Sociologists in general have been more receptive to the over-
all thrust of Szasz’ work. His adoption by sociologists has,
however, seemed akin to the adoption of a new child. Thus,
there has been a tendency both to revere and welcome the long
sought-after infant but to overlook the child’s real parents and
to play down these origins and background as they deal with
the child. It is Szasz’ background in psychoanalysis that
promises much for the sociological and group-therapeutic
endeavor. I will attempt to show the substance of this psycho-
analytic version and to note its significance for the sociological
and group dynamic enterprise. But first, we need to place Szasz
in an intellectual period of history, to uncover what preceded
Szasz in our psychiatric and sociological interactions.

To understand where psychiatry and psychoanalysis fit into
the sociological enterprise, we may note that in 1955 Arnold
Rose gave absolute endorsement to the methods and authority
of psychiatrists for judging reality. In a book edited by Rose,
Mental Health and Mental Disorders (dedicated to Ernest W.
Burgess, the first president of the Society for the Study of
Social Problems), a major criticism of the medical model was
offered by Eliot (1955). In this vein of criticism, we may note
also that Park in 1931 had suggested that cultural conflicts
were critical for an understanding of functional disorders. And
of course, the work by Faris and Dunham (1938, 1939) docu-
mented ecological variation in the distribution of psychiatric
disorders. Ideas that were critical of the medical model were
certainly available. These “anomalies” related only to etiology
in mental illness. Theoretical and empirical developments rela-
ting to diagnosis and treatment in psychiatry had to be devel-
oped before a wholesale attack could be made upon the entire
medical model of mental illness. Our interactions were friendly,
courteous, interested, and indeed respectful of our psychiatric
colleagues. The attempt to discredit the medical model of
mental illness has occurred with the development of new theo-

318 SMALL GROUP BEHAVIOR / AUGUST 1979

retical assertions and new research findings, as concisely sum-
marized by Dietz (1976). These are:

(1) Interpersonal relations are important in the pathogenesis of
mental illness. Although Freud understood this, the idea is
treated as if it were discovered in the 1960s. Bateson (1956,
1972) and Lidz (1963) are important intellectual workers who
can be cited, while Hannah Green’s J Never Promised You a
Rose Garden carried this message to thousands of students.

(2) Mental illness varies with social class. Here the works of
Hollingshead and Redlich (1958) and the Midtown Man-
hattan Study (Srole et al., 1962) are particularly relevant.

(3) Mental illness is in the eyes of the beholder. The Divided Self
by R. D. Laing (1961) and The Myth of Mental Illness (1961)
by Szasz, both widely diffused, elaborated this idea.

(4) This idea relates to the chronicity of illness and the process of
institutionalization. Sociologists like Lemert (1951), Becker
(1963), Scheff (1966, 1975), and Goffman (1961) were joined
by Szasz in what Dietz (1976) has called the “transmogrifica-
tion of the medical model.”3 Dietz correctly distinguishes be-
tween the testing of a theory which relies on logic and con-
trolled observations, and a wholesale discrediting of a theory
which relies upon polemics, rhetoric, and unwarranted extra-
polation from empirical data.

Szasz’ work has been used by sociologists to discredit the
medical model and discredit the moral character of psychia-
trists. In particular, what sociologists have found appealing in
the Szasz argument is that the concept of mental illness is
deficient. In attempting to discredit Charcot’s efforts to re-
classify hysteria from a social problem toa mental illness, Szasz
describes mental illness as social action and not a “happening”
like the physical illness of cancer. People do have cancer, and
this involves a lack of choice and a lack of motive. Mental ill-
ness, for Szasz, involves choice, action and will. For Szasz,
then, the mentally ill manifest the behavior that they wish to
communicate to their environment. While this has appeal, it is
transmogrification. The idea that physical illness is a “happen-

Rabow / PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIOLOGY AND SZASZ 319
mane ~
ing” whereas mental illness is an “action” is*inadequate. A Lab
is state or a Phase in a long series of ¢ =e
events. Pneumonia results from viral invasion. But the re- aan _
sponse is related to the immunological resistance of the person. ft we
This in turn has been affected by actions involving choices sur-
rounding diet, rest, and exercise. The interdependence of mind Nor it
and body is valid in medicine as well as in mental illness.
snaaetidisamnelyspablilaisisicLan nails to say that there is ~~
such thing as r ental illness. T patently false. The picture .
is probably more correctly drawn by Torrey, a psychiatrist *°)~
with an anthropological background, who believes that
psychiatry is dead and that the concept of mental illness is
deficient. Torrey (1974) argues:

zos e

It is as if we have one hundred balls in a psychiatric box. The
first five we saw were red (the people with organic brain disease)
so we declared that all the balls must be red. But if we look again
we can see that the next seventy-five balls are blue (the people
with problems of living). The remaining twenty balls seem to be
intermediate colors and will require closer examination to
make a final assignment.

Szasz argues that we should be careful before we call any of
the balls red but that it is rather futile to take a close look
at the borderline and intermediate cases, all of which he wants
to call problems of living.

Szasz’ (1963) second major simplification has to do with the
moral discrediting of psychiatrists; but in making this charge,
his argument depends less on his scientific rejection of
psychiatry and psychoanalysis than it does on the abuses of
psychiatric power in cases of political and other offenses. We
are all interested in abuses of power, and sociology has a fine,
muckraking past. However, in his attack on “Institutional +
Psychiatry” Szasz is unclear about whether he means all Vv 0
psychiatrists in charge of large public or private facilities or all +
practicing psychiatrists. This lack of clarity allows him to gloss rue
over subtle issues of responsibility, control, and variation in
clinical and psychiatric practice.

320 SMALL GROUP BEHAVIOR / AUGUST 1979

There is clearly variation in the fifth profession (Henry,
1971), not only in the clinical approaches to clients or patients
but also in values. Consider research I am currently doing on
therapists’ values and orientations (Manos and Rabow, 1978).
A sample of clinicians, social workers, psychiatrists, and
psychoanalysts who work in private practices and in public
settings were asked to analyze a series of problems. Two of the
problems are as follows:

A young women of twenty-five comes to you regarding prob-
lems with her marriage. She states that she has been depressed
a great deal recently and cannot discover any obvious reason.
Her depression and consequent lack of motivation to complete
the household duties and take care of her two year old child has
led to her husband’s becoming irritated and staying away for
long periods from the house. Early phases of treatment reveala
typical early marriage; she supports her husband through
school, has a baby; he graduates, gets an “interesting” job, she
is left at home with the child. She has always expected this to be
the life which would make her happy, yet she feels depressed.
Any mention of her getting a job or completing her college
education brings the answer from him, “Only if it in no way
interferes with my schedule or imposes any hardship on the
child.” During treatment she makes small attempts at expres-
sing her needs to him, they fail and she is unclear as to her right
to make any demands, continually feeling that she should be
happy and that there must be “something wrong with me.”
Treatment thus far has consisted of an attempt to get into the
intrapsychic roots of her self-denial and at the same time to
support her efforts to function within the family situation.
Progress after a year of treatment has been slow. Please discuss
your consequent actions.

A young man of 24 is referred to your community clinic by the
local welfare office for therapy. He has refused to work and
support his family—preferring to live on welfare, do occasional
odd jobs, such as gardening and painting, which have never
been enough to maintain complete support. He tells you that he
just doesn’t want to work and feels people should be free to do
as they please, that the state has an obligation to support him
and his family. The existing welfare regulations state that a man

Rabow / PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIOLOGY AND SZASZ 321

must register for work in order for his family to receive aid,
otherwise he must leave the household. He refuses to do either
one, and the office is considering a reduction in his grant or
possibly taking the family off aid. They are waiting for your
evaluation and recommendation as to the mental condition of
the young man. This could be a determining factor, they will
consider placing him on the Aid to the Disabled category. Your
interviews reveal nothing pathological. What would you do?

The first situation drew responses from clinicians that varied
only in the therapists’ orientation. In general, an intrapsychic
rather than an interpersonal orientation separated the
clinicians. In the second problem, variation in values was
clearly sought. The causes differ in that the first situation is
voluntaristic and the second problem involves a referral froma
social welfare board. Despite Szasz’ warning about abuses,
there was a great concern by representatives of all the helping
professions concerning incorrect labeling. An MSW stated, “If
this man reveals nothing pathological, I would state this to him
and the referring agency. It is, after all, his decision to live as he
wishes, taking consideration of the consequences.” A psychia-
trist working at a public hospital of the type Szasz describes
maintained a very supportive stance, interplaying intrapsychic
and social considerations:

Diagnostically and administratively I would restrain the im-
pulse to label this man neurotic, schizophrenic or “borderline”
and thereby eligible for disability on psychiatric grounds. In my
practice, I have been distressed again and again at seeing many
patients whose competence as members of society has been
crippled by the over-generous diagnosis of schizophrenia. This
has also been true of individuals whose diagnosis of schizo-
phrenia is well documented but who had recovered virtually
completely yet who remain incapacitated by the financial and
other secondary gain. In my opinion, this is clinically a tragedy
for these individuals, as well as politically an unfortunate social
cost to the rest of us. Therapeutically, I would sympathize with
his particular utopian desires and the fact that current society
does not provide them. Given the necessary reality to work if
not otherwise financially established, I would offer therapeutic

322 SMALL GROUP BEHAVIOR / AUGUST 1979

support and vocational testing and/or referral if the young man
were interested.

In spite of Szasz’ warnings about practitioners who force
people into categories of mental illness, these appraisals indi-
cate—quite to the contrary—professional conscientiousness
and a general reluctance to act intrusively or to label arbi-
trarily. |

Another part of Szasz’ work—one that has, I believe,
attracted sociologists—is his translation of psychoanalysis
into both human and sociological terms. The professional
glossing over of psychoanalytic explanations in which respond-
ents cannot locate themselves in relation to the descriptions or
explanations has been translated by Szasz into themes of per-
sonal autonomy and social responsibility, themes we are quite
at home with (Olsen, 1964; White, 1961; Parsons and White,
1961).

SZASZ THE TRADITIONALIST

Szasz’ fundamental concern, one that continually draws
sociologists to him, is his constant attention to the ideals of
individual liberty, human dignity, and personal responsibility.4
These are themes that are lacking in most social science techni-
cal writings, and Szasz is no mere humanist unconcerned with
issues of conceptual rigor and logic. He has a deep concern for
the ways in which the medical view of responsibility has played
into the egos of psychiatrists and has fed the imperialism of
psychiatry. When Charcot redefined the problem of illness, the
pavements were immediately redesigned for those weak and
inept persons to be diagnosed and driven into mental hospitals.
As Morris (1976), a philosopher, has noted about Szasz, “He
does with responsibility what he charges others do with sick-
ness.”

Morris argues that there are two ultimate positions one can
take toward the idea of responsibility. Either no one is re-

Rabow / PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIOLOGY AND SZASZ 323

sponsible, or we are all responsible all the time. In pushing the
latter, with respect to the mentally ill, can one take seriously the
idea that all persons at all times know what to do to improve pr

and remedy their conditions? Peop! : not hed
support the idea that assistance in. dealing w with n problems of <. poe,
living or problems of deciding about good and evil can come — os) )

from others. Fine. But this glosses over the subtle problems of oe } ;
choice and the way in which we all avoid responsibility some of

the time, how some avoid responsibility some of the time and

how others cannot take responsibility at all or most times.

plementarity or the possibi spuateagunteesindia| sen, 1964). This

is $ strange, since he does not believe that what is institutional is “~
automatically odious. According to Szasz (1963), “While indi-
viduals and group actions differ, each may be as good or as bad

as people make them.”

So just as Szasz earlier argued that mind and body are
separate, he argues that the interests of the individual and the a A
interests of the psychiatrist are separate. Szasz (1964) hassaid,
“If the interests of the two conflict, as they often do, the @*°”
psychiatrist can help one only by harming the other.” The key |
to this gloss is the word often. Interests may conflict, but the f.
interests of contending and competing parties may also coin- | ~
cide. Individual liberty an al responsibility are not zero-.
‘sum entities, anc sine often act upon each other so that an
increase can benefit both the collective and the actor (Olsen,
naa As implied by the above, I am less than happy with
Szasz’ treatment of freedom and responsibility. The issue is,
however, a fundamental one, and I do not believe that he is any
less worth reading for his particular treatment of the problem
despite the fact that he makes an error on seeing opposition at
all times. What is best in Szasz is his translation of psycho-
analysis into ahuman and dyadic relationship; this translation,
which has been ignored by sociologists, promises much for the
sociologial endeavor and for a deeper understanding of
important aspects of group process.

» Mo,
be

(am -+

324 SMALL GROUP BEHAVIOR / AUGUST 1979

SZASZ THE TRANSLATOR

Does Szasz the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst have any-
thing to offer sociologists and sociological social psycholo-
gists? (Swanson, 1972). Can we move beyond his concern for
individual freedom and human dignity, beyond the legitimate
attacks on the abuses of power, and beyond the transmogrifi-
cation of the medical model? Does he offer us a useful analysis
of either the relation between individuals or the relationship
between human individuals and social organization? My
answer is yes, albeit a tentative one. Psychiatric and psy-
choanalytic works, despite a major and significant impact
upon sociologists in the 1920-1940 period, have been poorly
received by sociologists. In a recent review summarizing the
attempts to integrate sociological and psychoanalytic thought,
Platt (1971) notes that there is “mostly apathy, ambivalence
and outright hostility towards psychoanalytically oriented
frameworks in sociology.” The work of Sewell, a sociologist
who seemed particularly incensed by the indictment of the
middle classes as producers of “neurotic individuals” (Green,
1946), represented a bench mark for upcoming sociologists.
Sewell and his students set out to test the association between
infant childcare and adult personality. The results contradicted
the expected associations derived from psychoanalytic theory.
For over ten years, the studies directed at orality and anality
all led to the same conclusion. There was no evidence for the
hypothesized psychoanalytic relationship between child rear-
ing and adult personality (Sewell, 1961).°

The linkage between sociologists and psychoanalysts inter-
ested in socialization was undermined by Sewell, and the pos-
sible connection between culture and personality was under-
mined by Orlansky in 1949. Orlansky argued for the autonomy
of effects of cultural and social variables, and this promoted
an increasingly negative attitude toward psychoanalytic theory
in cultural and ethnographic work.

Despite efforts on the part of Parsons (1964), Weinstein and
Platt (1969), and psychiatrists Sherwood (1969) and Torrey

Rabow / PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIOLOGY AND SZASZ 325

(1974) to generate new directions or a synthesis, the boun-
daries of sociology and psychoanalysis tend to be guarded by
cold war warriors. Can Szasz help penetrate our boundaries?
What is in Szasz’ work that deepens our understanding of
interpersonal relations? There are at least two major areas
that Szasz makes accessible and legitimate for sociologists.

These areas come from his psychoanalytic background and
from his understanding of what psychoanalysis can uncover
and discover.

In his Ethics of Psychoanalysis, Szasz offers a brilliant
account and translation of analysis as a game. One can learn
the principles and structures underlying the aims of any game,
but knowing those does not reveal how to play the game
and what it is possible to achieve. The game of analysis is to
explore yourself, “reveal” yourself, and examine yourself. But
psychoanalysis is more than an exploration of our inner world.
Listen to the advice that Szasz gives future analysts. The
advice translates into a guide for social scientists interested
in intense and intimate participant observation of subjects.
“Get to know your patient” has its counterpart for sociologists
about to enter the field. “Do not let yourself be coerced by
emergencies” translates into directives for remembering one’s
purpose in doing the research. You are there to understand and
interpret the subject’s means and methods for dealing with
life’s emergencies. “Do not misconstrue the patient’s feelings
or ideas about you” translates into directions for keeping the
appropriate distance and not going native. Remember as you
pass through the scene not to betray your visit by attaching
great importance to your presence and to your value as an
expert. Szasz suggests how the parameters and structure of
analysis can be utilized to attend to the minded processes of
others. The unique structure of the analytic situation can
basically lead us to the intimate, pervasive, and key issues that
each of us, in sociological and group research, must deal with
(Luborsky, 1977).

The plea for cooperation between sociologists and psycho-
analysts needs to be supplemented by both an appreciation of

326 SMALL GROUP BEHAVIOR / AUGUST 1979

the problems inherent on a multilevel, interdisciplinary
approach represented by the term Psychoanalytic Sociology
(Wallerstein and Smelser, 1969) and an understanding of what
psychoanalysis has to offer sociology and sociologists. Such a
description is well beyond the scope of this paper, but some
approaches to psychoanalysis and psychic functions should be
described and some shortcomings specified.

One way that sociologists have proceeded to approach
psychoanalytic theory, when they are not ignoring or belittling
it, is to incorporate the reality of psychic and unconscious
functioning and psychic development along with social and
cultural functioning and development.

The work of sociologists like Parsons (1958) and the two
works of Weinstein and Platt (1969, 1973) are prime examples
of theorists’ use of the principle of interpenetration to indicate
the validity of a multilevel and interdisciplinary perspective
to human behavior. This approach has some intrinsic appeal,
but the complexity and richness of this perspective has served
more as a guide than as a program for systematic research. The
trend for sociologists sympathetic to psychoanalysis has been
to translate psychoanalytic concepts into sociological concepts
and then to ignore psychoanalytic theory and research
(Rabow, 1979). Thus, as Parsons (1958) notes, if

the main content of the structure of the personality is derived
from social systems and culture through socialization, the
personality becomes an independent system through its rela-
tions to its own organism and through the uniqueness of its own
life experience; it is not a mere epiphenomenon of the structure
of the society. There is, however, not merely interdependence
between the two, but what I call interpenetration.

What need is there to become engrossed or pay attention to the
detailed and complicated way in which aggression and drives
are channeled by social and cultural organization? The psychic
functions are absorbed through sociological incorporation.
The route of interpenetration ends up giving minimal atten-
tion to the complex and clinically rich data of psychoanalysts

Rabow / PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIOLOGY AND SZASZ 327

(Wallerstein, 1969, 1971; Luborsky, 1976, 1977; Moser, 1977)
and to the cogent critics of psychoanalysis (Rycroft, 1966,
1968; Guntrip, 1967; Schafer, 1968, 1973; Klein, 1969; and
Leites, 1971). Moreover, we act as if research workers in
psychoanalysis are not sophisticated or sensitive to issues of
reliability and validity. This view ignores the sophistication
and attention given to data collection as represented in pro-
cess notes (Wallerstein, 1956) or audio-visual recordings
(Schlesinger, 1967) or verbatim tape recordings (Luborsky,
1977); to the question of ordering, reducing, and summarizing
data that analysts have addressed (Wallerstein, 1971) or to
problems of sample size (Strupp, 1960; Janis, 1958, Margolin,
1951; Dukes, 1965). The scientific problems are of course com-
pounded by interpersonal and role problems of interdis-
ciplinary research, as discussed by Luszki (1958), Redlich and
Brody (1955), and Rabow (1964).

Sophisticated, detailed, and systematic work is available in
psychoanalysis, and the way in which it can advance our
knowledge of human behavior remains a promise.

Most sociologists I know are willing to discuss their in-
creased productivity as a result of analysis. They are also
eager to admit that analysis has had personal value for them.
What they are not willing to discuss are the issues that most
often relate to their own productivity—authority, aggression,
oedipal conflict as manifested in the need to surpass the father
and separate from the mother. Szasz has indicated in general
terms how we might use the terms with care and understanding
and without being accused of professional glossing.

Love and work are still themes that run high and echo persist-
ently in our professional and academic bones. Psychoanalysts
spend years working on these very themes, and I believe that we
can learn from them and they from us. Szasz demystifies the
method and resurrects the subjects that we have forgotten.

There is a lot more to be said of Szasz the translator. His
concern for signs, symbols, language, rules, and games
certainly places him in the tradition of Mead.® Szasz himself
notes that psychoanalysts, like other social scientists, can

328 SMALL GROUP BEHAVIOR / AUGUST 1979

make their knowledge public. It is time for sociologists—
and for scholars in small-group research—and for psycho-
analysts to address these tasks with shared understandings and
heightened energies.

NOTES

1. Szasz (1970) himself notes that Glaser accuses him, Szasz, of psychiatric heresy.

2. The term psychiatric sociology, as well as I can determine, was first used by
Eliot (1955), who, according to Arnold Rose, gave the first course on this topic in the
United States at the University of Washington in 1928. In general, sociologists tend to
confuse “psychiatric sociology” and “psychoanalytic sociology.” This becomes clear
when one reads Eliot (1955). It is, I believe, very important to differentiate psycho-
analysis from psychiatry, and this differentiation, is, | argue, a key to understanding
Szasz.

3. It should be noted that this list actually includes three different types of critique.
There is a general critique of the medical model (which still leaves a lot of mental
illness unstated); the second critique involves the blindness to social forces in mental
health care; the third, by people like Scheff, Becker, and Laing points to the destruc-
tive power of psychiatry and psychiatrists aside from the models.

4. Ina personal comment to me, Donald Light has clearly noted that if this were
true, sociologists would study Rousseau seriously.

5. Sewell’s (1961) article on “Social Class and Childhood Personality” contains a
bibliography by Sewell and his coworkers.

6. The analysis is based on four major works of Szasz: The Myth of Mental Illness
(1961) Law, Liberty and Psychiatry (1963), The Ethics of Psychoanalysis (1965), and
The Manufacture of Madness (1970).

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Jerome Rabow is Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at the
University of California, Los Angeles, with specializations in crime and delin-
quency, social psychology, and psychoanalytic sociology. He was a group
therapist at the Highfield’s Residential Treatment Center in New Jersey and at
the Provo Delinquency Rehabilitation Project in Utah. His current research
interests are in psychoanalytic sociology and in alcohol.

THE GESTALT
GROWTH EXPERIENCE

BARBARA L. FORISHA
with MARK HOFFMANN
and ROBERT HOLTZMAN

University of Michigan-Dearborn

An illusive image drawing my internal gaze is that of a vari-
colored, multitextured tapestry with each thread weaving its
own path, describing the course of its own destiny, contribut-
ing to the vividness, the aliveness, and the rich complexity of
the whole. Some threads show only little kinks in their straight-
ness, slight shading to their hues, while others swerve and bend
and double back, changing color as they change shape. Yet
each highlights the other, the dark calling forth the light, the
crooked requiring the straight, each strand part of the overall
pattern which is called into being. No strand approaches the
ideal of threadness, yet each contributes to the sense of whole-
ness intrinsic in a work of art. All are essential to the total
patterning of the tapestry.

In just such a way do I see our individualities weaving
through life. We choose our own paths, bend as we see fit, hew
a straight course when we perceive our vision ahead, respond
to our inner promptings and to the proddings of the environ-
ment; all this contributes to the larger whole of waich we are
a part. We have all entered the world with our unique set of
predispositions, have responded to our unique situations, and
have pursued our unique paths. We cannot assume nor judge,
from this perspective, that any one path is better than another.
We cannot see the necessity of perceived evil in calling forth

332

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