The Thomas S. Szasz Award
for Outstanding Contributions to
the Cause of Civil Liberties
History shows that individual rights have been incessantly violated and are always threatened by coercive authority. That the price of liberty is eternal vigilance is a truth long evident to friends of freedom. Those exceptional individuals who dedicate themselves to guarding the liberties of their fellow man against the encroachment of the state deserve our recognition and our gratitude.
For more than five decades, Thomas S. Szasz has distinguished himself as the preeminent defender of individual rights in the fields of psychiatry and psychology. He has remained a steadfast champion of the classical-liberal values of voluntary interaction, the rule of law, and an open society. His struggle on behalf of civil liberties has been indefatigable, sustained despite intense opposition over a lifetime of brilliant intellectual accomplishment.
Uncompromising in his classical liberal beliefs, Thomas Szasz has been ready—indeed eager—to do battle with massive and entrenched establishments. His struggle on behalf of civil liberties has been indefatigable, sustained over a lifetime of brilliant intellectual accomplishment.
It is only just, therefore, that an effort be made to perpetuate the work of Dr. Szasz, by recognizing and honoring those who follow in his footsteps.
The Thomas S. Szasz Award is a tribute conferred annually by the Center for Independent Thought on a person or organization, American or foreign, judged to have contributed in an outstanding degree to the cause of civil liberty. The award, which includes a $1,000 prize and plaque, was established to honor Dr. Szasz's career-long battle for civil liberties, property rights, and limits on government power.
Emeritus professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center/Syracuse, Szasz is the author of some 25 books—most famously The Myth of Mental Illness—hundreds of scholarly articles, and a regular column in The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty. His latest book is Antipsychiatry: Quackery Squared (Syracuse University Press, 2009).
Szasz's other books include Ceremonial Chemistry: The Ritual Persecution of Drugs, Addicts and Pushers; Insanity: The Idea and Its Consequences; Cruel Compassion: Psychiatric Control of Society's Unwanted; Fatal Freedom: The Ethics and Politics of Suicide; Pharmacracy: Medicine and Politics in America; Liberation by Oppression: A Comparative Study of Slavery and Psychiatry; "My Madness Saved Me": The Madness and Marriage of Virginia Woolf; The Medicalization of Everyday Life: Selected Essays; and Coercion as Cure: A Critical History of Psychiatry.
Past Szasz Award Recipients:
2010: Psychologist and author Louis Wynne (professional category), for his many articles and book reviews on theoretical aspects of both general and clinical psychology. No award was given in the general category in 2010.
2009: George Mason University economist Donald Boudreaux (general category), whose prolific writing has extended beyond theoretical economics to explore in popular venues the virtues of individual liberty, including some of less popular forms. Psychologist Thomas Greening (professional category), a professor of psychology at Saybrook Graduate School in San Francisco, an institution dedicated to humanist psychology; a psychotherapist; and a family and marriage counselor.
2008: Legal scholar Robert A. Levy (general category), whose U.S. Supreme Court case led to the striking down of Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns. Psychotherapist Phil Barker and counselor Poppy Buchanan-Barker (professional category), both of whom have made important and influential contributions to removing psychiatric care from the purview of medicine and repositioning it as a type of secular-spiritual, humane service.
2007: Former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky (general category), who spent years in psychiatric prisons for opposing the brutal communist regime and was one of the first to expose the use of psychiatric imprisonment against political prisoners in the USSR. Arizona physician and author Ross Levatter (professional category) for his contribution of many articles and reviews discussing and elaborating Szasz's critique of the "therapeutic state," the government's use of coercion in the name of health.
2006: Historian Robert Higgs (general category) for his work on the reasons and methods by which government grows and usurps liberty, particularly how the state creates and exploits fear in order to expand its power over its subjects. Psychologist-philosopher Robert Spillane (professional category) for his many year's of work in the fight against what Szasz calls the medicalization of moral behavior, as well as his campaigns against the mass drugging of children.
2005: Libertarian/feminist Joan Kennedy Taylor for her lifelong devotion to liberty. Brian Caplan, economist at George Mason University, whose recent paper, "The Economics of Szasz: Preferences, Constraints, and Mental Illness," restates Szasz's philosophy of human behavior in economic terms. The paper appeared in the journal Rationality and Society.
2004: Irving Louis Horowitz, has worked for several decades to develop a political sociology that can measure the extent of a society's personal freedom and State-sanctioned violence. Jacob Sullum, author, journalist, and winner of the general award, relentlessly defends the rights of consenting adults to consume even potentially harmful products, such as drugs and tobacco. He is a consistent champion of all civil and economic liberties.
2003: Ward Connerly, outspoken advocate of equal rights and opponent of governmental racial preferences, was
selected for his achievements in reshaping the national dialogue on race in America, and moving
the nation toward the ideal of a colorblind government. Anthony Stadlen, a London psychotherapist, was selected for
his outstanding writing and teaching in the way of Thomas Szasz.
2002: U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a tireless defender of individual freedom in all spheres during his long tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. While his emphasis has been on economic freedom, he has also battled on behalf of personal privacy and civil liberties. Keith Hoeller, editor of the Review of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry, for his newspaper columns about the dangers posed to individual liberty by the mental-health laws.
2001: Renowned columnist and author Nat Hentoff for his vocal and unwavering defense of civil liberties, decrying, without partisanship, attempts to abrogate the Constitutional guarantees of free speech, privacy, due process, and equal protection under the law. Dr. Ron Leifer for championing Thomas Szasz's views on mental illness, liberty, and responsibility in his private practice as psychiatrist, in his writing and teaching, and in his psychiatric testimonies.
2000: Law professor George J. Alexander, for more than thirty years, has championed the application of Szasz's views on mental illness to the law, in his numerous publications, his teaching, and his lectures.
1999: Jeffrey Schaler, for his leading role in the development of secular, autonomous self-help groups for people with problems related to drug use. Chip Mellor and Clint Bolick of the Institute for Justice, for their litigation and cutting-edge constitutional work in favor of economic liberty, property rights, and school choice.
1998: Robert D. Kephart for his long-time support for liberty-oriented organizations.
1997: David Kopel and Paul Blackman for No More Wacos. Bettina Bien Graves for lifetime achievement.
1996: Philip Zimmerman for developing Pretty Good Privacy encryption software.
1995: James Bovard for "prolific writing about government abuses of individuals in their economic and personal lives." Julie Stewart for her work as founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums.
1994: Professor Lord Peter T. Bauer for being "an eloquent champion of free markets and the rule of law around the world."
1993: Richard Vatz for promoting the work and ideas of Thomas Szasz.
1992: Richard A. Epstein for Forbidden Grounds and for a "lifetime of intellectual work on behalf of individual liberty and property rights."
1991: Karl Hess for lifetime achievement.
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Journalist Doherty, Psychiatry Professor Lothane Named Winners of 2011 Szasz Awards Journalist Brian Doherty and psychiatry professor Henry (Zvi) Lothane have been named recipients of the 2011 Thomas S. Szasz Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties. Doherty, a senior editor at Reason magazine, won the award in the general category. Lothane, Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, won in the professional category. Doherty is the author of many articles and book reviews in support of civil liberties and the work of Szasz in particular. His acclaimed book, Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement, features an 11-page discussion of the importance of Szasz's work to the cause of individual liberty, autonomy, and dignity. Doherty is also the author of This Is Burning Man and Gun Control on Trial. Doherty's articles have been featured in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, Spin, National Review, The Weekly Standard, San Francisco Chronicle, and dozens of other publications. Lothane began his training in psychiatry in 1963 and was influenced by Szasz's teachings early on. Starting in 1978, he began writing and publishing on the methodology of psychiatry and psychoanalysis, dealing with such topics as the methodology of hallucinations and the art of listening and interpreting in the psychoanalytic process. Lothane's interest in the history of psychiatry and psychoanalysis culminated in 1992 with the publication of his landmark historical research into the life and work of Daniel Paul Schreber and his father, Moritz Schreber, In Defense of Schreber: Soul Murder and Psychiatry, published in a new, expanded version as Seelenmord und Psychiatrie: Zur Rehabilierung Schrebers. His most recent methodological contribution to psychiatry and psychoanalysis is dramatology, set forth in four published papers. The Szasz Award, named for the prominent opponent of psychiatric coercion and other forms of oppression in the name of health, is a tribute conferred annually on persons or organizations, American or foreign, judged to have significantly advanced the cause of civil liberty. The award is intended to encourage civil libertarians to persevere in the battle to protect personal autonomy from state encroachment. The Professional Award is given to a specialist, such as a psychiatrist, physician, psychologist, sociologist, or economist, who has made advances in civil liberties on a theoretical or practical level. The General Award is given to an author or activist who has done exceptional work to advance and popularize the importance of civil liberties. No award was given this year in the general category. The winners each receive a plaque and $1,000.
nominations for the 2012 Szasz Award Nominations for the 2012 award will be accepted through August 31, 2012. Material relevant to the award is invited for submission. For more information or to place a nomination, send email to Andrea Rich or write to: Szasz Award Nominations Center for Independent Thought 1420 Walnut Street, Suite 1011 Philadelphia, PA 19102
The Szasz Quotationary by Thomas Szasz Kindle Edition Available at Amazon.com A collection of excerpts and aphorisms from the writings of Thomas Szasz organized in 50 chapters arranged alphabetically by subject.
Diagnosing in the Dark The continuing relevance of Thomas Szasz’s assault on psychiatric pretensions by Jacob Sullum from Reason magazine, October 2011
Romancing Psychiatry: Paul Schreber, Otto Gross, Oskar Panizza— personal, social and forensic aspects by Henry (Zvi) Lothane
Libertarian Psychology by Jeff Riggenbach from Mises Daily, July 1, 2011 transcribed from the Libertarian Tradition podcast
The Illegitimacy of the "Psychiatric Bible" by Thomas Szasz from The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, December 2010
Commentary: Coercion as Cure: A Critical History of Psychiatry by Thomas Szasz from the Canadian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2010
Szasz Hailed in U.K. for 'Questioning Spirit' American psychiatrist is celebrated for 50th anniversary of The Myth of Mental Illness by Bruce Jancin published in Clinical Psychiatry News
MADNESS, MYTH AND MEDICINE Ron Roberts on the continuing relevance of Thomas Szasz, now in his 91st year published in The Psychologist August 2010, Vol. 23, No. 8
THE LEGACY OF THOMAS SZASZ by Phil Barker Honorary Professor, University of Dundee written in honor of Dr. Szasz's 90th Birthday, April 15, 2010
Psychiatry's Valid but Dishonest Reconsiderations In this article on Dr. Szasz and Psychiatry, Richard E. Vatz and Jeffrey Schaler note that much of the newest wave of psychiatric self-criticism is salutary and headed in the right direction; the problem is the field's unwillingness to credit the psychiatrist who paved the way.
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