Szasz’s ideas, beliefs and personal philosophies, as related to his theories and expressed in his work, form the basis of this chapter. Such beliefs can be called premises. They form a background, a perspective, and a clarification of the theories themselves, facilitating critical consideration.

This chapter is partly descriptive, partly interpretive, and partly critical. It is descriptive particularly when discussing Szasz’s views on humanity and freedom; autonomy and individualism; as well as his political convictions (2.1-2.4). The critical part is in particular my commentary on those (2.5). In the section afterwards it is part interpretive and part critical about (scientific) philosophy, physics, and the humanities (3.1), and about the problem of the relationship between body and mind (3.2). Finally, it is interpretive in particular when I attempt to characterize several aspects of Szasz’s work (4).

Summarizing: it is my intention to reconstruct a general theme from Szasz’s work, on which his theories regarding psychiatry are founded.