|
Introductory CommentsMost notable is that inquisitors and
psychiatrists are discussed at least as much as their alleged victims,
respectively, witches and patients. That is highly characteristic of
Szasz, who prefers to comment on relationships and their meanings
rather than viewing phenomena on their own. Equally characteristic is
that when he discusses the couples psychiatrist-patient and
inquisitor-witch, the emphasis is on the psychiatrists and the
inquisitors, rather than on the patients and the witches. The interest
that witch-hunters and psychiatrists have in locating respectively
witches and patients is noted, but the patients’ interest in their
psychiatrists is not considered. The suggestion is that both
inquisitors and psychiatrists gain importance as the number of,
respectively, witches and patients increase. Therefore their number
continually increases. After all, witches do not really exist, but are
“fabricated” by declaring people to be witches, etc. So the chapter is
not only about occurrences, but also about why they occur. Finally, the
statement that inquisitors and psychiatrists are and do the same is
repeated thirteen times on these pages. On the side: on page 75 Szasz
states about Zilboorg, “…and seeks to establish the validity of his
interpretation by constantly repeating it.”
|
| Previous Next Table of Contents |