Abstract
Why does the concept of ‘mental illness’ cause continuing difficulties, both philosophical and practical? There are, as I have tried to show for the past twenty years, several reasons for this [7, 11, 12, 14] .
Notable enough too, here as elsewhere, wilt thou find the potency of Names; which indeed are but one kind of such custom-woven, wonder-hiding Garments. Witchcraft, and all manner of Specterwork, and Demonology, we have now renamed Madness, and Diseases of the Nerves. Seldom reflecting that still the new question comes upon us: What is Madness, What are Nerves? Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Sartor Resartus ([2], p. 280)
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© 1977 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Szasz, T.S. (1977). The Concept of Mental Illness: Explanation or Justification?. In: Engelhardt, H.T., Spicker, S.F. (eds) Mental Health: Philosophical Perspectives. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-6909-5_17
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