Thomas Szasz

“Doubt is to certainty as neurosis is to psychosis. The neurotic is in doubt and has fears about persons and things; the psychotic has convictions and makes claims about them. In short, the n...”

“It is easier to do one's duty to others than to one's self. If you do your duty to others, you are considered reliable. If you do your duty to yourself, you are considered selfish.”

“If you talk to God, you are praying; If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.”

“If the dead talk to you, you are a spiritualist; if God talks to you, you are a schizophrenic.”

“Every 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 ea...”

“Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.”

“Permissiveness is the principle of treating children as if they were adults; and the tactic of making sure they never reach that stage.”

“In the past, men created witches: now they create mental patients.”