Thomas Szasz's Quotes
The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.
Thomas SzaszFormerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic.
Thomas SzaszHe who does not accept and respect those who want to reject life does not truly accept and respect life itself.
Thomas SzaszIf you talk to God, you are praying; If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.
Thomas SzaszPunishment is now unfashionable... because it creates moral distinctions among men, which, to the democratic mind, are odious. We prefer a meaningless collective guilt to a meaningful individual responsibility.
Thomas SzaszClear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.
Thomas SzaszEvery act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily.
Thomas SzaszA teacher should have maximal authority, and minimal power.
Thomas SzaszIndividual psychotherapy - that is, engaging a distressed fellow human in a disciplined conversation and human relationship - requires that the therapist have the proper temperament and philosophy of life for such work. By that I mean that the therapist must be patient, modest, and a perceptive listener, rather than a talker and advice-giver.
Thomas SzaszIn the past, men created witches: now they create mental patients.
Thomas SzaszNarcissist: psychoanalytic term for the person who loves himself more than his analyst; considered to be the manifestation of a dire mental disease whose successful treatment depends on the patient learning to love the analyst more and himself less.
Thomas SzaszTwo wrongs don't make a right, but they make a good excuse.
Thomas Szasz