The Mental Illness Dispute: The Critical Faith Assumptions

1981 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee S. Weinberg ◽  
Richard E. Vatz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Ad Hominem ◽  
The Past ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Thomas Szasz

The writings of Thomas Szasz over the past twenty years have produced ardent defenders and vehement critics. Unfortunately, much of the criticism is either of an ad hominem type or is based on misunderstanding(s) of Szasz's arguments. Some recent critiques, however, raise critical issues which reflect the different philosophical starting points or assumptions which distinguish Szasz from his critics. In this article, we delineate the hidden assumptions which underlie much of the debate over the existence of “mental illness” and argue that these critical assumptions are not amenable to confirmation or disconfirmation.

Houses of cards

2001 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 56-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Bergmann
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Domestic Space ◽  
Behavioral Patterns ◽  
Ad Hominem ◽  
The Past ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
New Information ◽  
Exciting Time

We have reached an important moment in the study of the Roman house. The past 20 years have been extremely active, with scholars approaching domestic space down different disciplinary and methodological avenues. Since the important essay on Campanian houses by A. Wallace-Hadrill in 1988, new excavations and scores of books and articles have changed the picture of Pompeii and, with it, that of the Roman house. Theoretical archaeologists have taken the lead, approaching Pompeii as an "archaeological laboratory" in which, armed with the interpretative tools of spatial and statistical analysis, they attempt to recover ancient behavioral patterns. The interdisciplinary picture that emerges is complex and inevitably contradictory. There is so much new information and such a tangle of perspectives that it is time to consider what we have learned and what kinds of interpretative tools we might best employ. Without doubt this is an exciting time in Roman studies. But two overviews of recent scholarship to appear this year, the present one by R. Tybout and another by P. Allison (AJA 105.2 [2001]), express considerable frustration and resort to ad hominem recriminations that signal a heated backlash, at least among some.

scholarly journals Holistic Health: Does It Really Include Mental Health?

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 2092-2099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly K. McClanahan ◽  
Marlene B. Huff ◽  
Hatim A. Omar
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Holistic Health ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
The U.S

Holistic health, incorporating mind and body as equally important and unified components of health, is a concept utilized in some health care arenas in the United States (U.S.) over the past 30 years. However, in the U.S., mental health is not seen as conceptually integral to physical health and, thus, holistic health cannot be realized until the historical concept of mind-body dualism, continuing stigma regarding mental illness, lack of mental health parity in insurance, and inaccurate public perceptions regarding mental illness are adequately addressed and resolved. Until then, mental and physical health will continue to be viewed as disparate entities rather than parts of a unified whole. We conclude that the U.S. currently does not generally incorporate the tenets of holistic health in its view of the mental and physical health of its citizens, and provide some suggestions for changing that viewpoint.

scholarly journals Number of long-term inpatients in Japanese psychiatric care beds: trend analysis from the Patient Survey and the 630 Survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsushi Okayama ◽  
Kentaro Usuda ◽  
Emi Okazaki ◽  
Yoshio Yamanouchi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Psychiatric Care ◽  
Patient Survey ◽  
Multifaceted Approach ◽  
The Past ◽  
Natural Decrease ◽  
Hospital Bed ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Using Data

Abstract BackgroundThe number of psychiatric care beds and the mean length of stay in psychiatric care beds in Japan have decreased over the past 10 years. However, as has long been indicated here and elsewhere, Japan lags behind other countries in terms of deinstitutionalization. Furthermore, the population of inpatients in psychiatric care beds is aging dramatically. In addition to the diversification of mental illness, the question of what measures to implement going forward regarding current psychiatric bed resources has emerged as a new challenge.MethodsUsing data from the Patient Survey and the 630 Survey, we examined trends in the number of long-term inpatients in psychiatric care beds in Japan through 2040. Population estimation was used for estimating long-term hospital bed demand because of small fluctuations in the admission and discharge of long-term inpatients.ResultsIn 2017, nearly one-third of all long-term hospitalized patients were aged ≥75 years, and an estimated 47% of the total are expected to die by 2040. Thus, the overall demand for long-term hospitalization is forecast to decrease sharply due to aging of currently hospitalized long-term inpatients. The number of long-term inpatients in 2017 was 167,579, and this is projected to decrease to 103,141 in 2040.ConclusionsWe believe it is necessary to adopt a multifaceted approach to promote hospital discharge and transition to the community, and to address the diversification of mental illness and the issue of psychiatric care bed supply/availability, which are forecast to decrease due to the natural decrease in long-term inpatients.

The rise and fall of anti-psychiatry

1995 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 743-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mervat Nasser
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Psychiatric Practice ◽  
The Past ◽  
Health Institutions ◽  
Mental Health Institutions ◽  
The Impact

A review is made of the anti-psychiatric movement through its major protagonists, Lacan, Laing, Cooper and Szasz. The ideology was set to challenge the concept of mental illness and question the authority of the psychiatrist and the need for mental health institutions. The anti-psychiatric movement received a lot of attention in the 1970s but is now considered to be of the past and of likely interest to the psychiatric historian. However, the impact of the movement on current psychiatric practice requires further re-examination and appraisal.

Survey of nonlinear vibration of gear transmission systems

2003 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianjun Wang ◽  
Runfang Li and ◽  
Xianghe Peng
Keyword(s):  
Nonlinear Vibration ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Gear Transmission ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Mesh Stiffness ◽  
Transmission Systems ◽  
Driven Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Basic Concepts

In this paper, the progress in nonlinear dynamics of gear driven systems in the past twenty years is reviewed, especially the gear dynamic behavior, by considering the backlash and time-varying mesh stiffness of teeth. The basic concepts, the mathematical models and the solving methods for the non-linear dynamics of geared systems are then reviewed. The critical issues for further research on the nonlinear vibration in gear transmission systems are also discussed. There are 204 references cited in this review article.

The Rhetoric of Madness in Realist Film Theory

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Temenuga Trifonova
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Film Theory ◽  
Physical Reality ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
The Past ◽  
Film Reception ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Aesthetic

This chapter explores the rhetoric of madness and mental illness informing realist film theories. Hugo Münsterberg, author of the first work of film theory, The Photoplay: A Psychological Study, considered the following several features—reminiscent of the symptomatic language of dissociative identity disorder—essential to cinema: decentralization (the ability to assume alternate points of view), mobility (the ability to invert the past and the present, the real and the virtual), and derealization and disembodiment (characteristic of film reception). Epstein’s revelationist aesthetic and Balázs’s anthropomorphic film theory are both informed by animistic beliefs, translating into the realm of the aesthetic the symptoms of various types of delusional and anxiety disorders characterized by the inability to distinguish the living from the non-living. In Kracauer’s Theory of Film affective states commonly perceived as symptomatic of madness or mental illness—detachment from reality, ennui, melancholy, distraction, and disinterestedness/apathy—are posited as necessary to film’s ‘redemption of physical reality’. This chapter explores these and other formulations, focusing on Kracuer’s Theory of Film.

Marshmallows and Braking Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 105-122
Author(s):  
Craig J. Bryan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Suicide Attempt ◽  
Social Influence ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Basic Concept ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The Past ◽  
Internal States ◽  
Decision Making Processes

This chapter argues that suicide can be more usefully understood as a consequence of decision-making processes that are vulnerable to environmental and social influence rather than a consequence of internal states or traits such as mental illness. Mental illness and emotional distress more generally are better understood as one particular context within which the decision to make a suicide attempt or not often presents itself, but this does not mean that mental illness is the only context within which this choice is considered. This also does not mean that mental illness causes suicide. The basic concept involved in the marshmallow experiment—decision-making under different conditions—has received increased attention in the past decade among suicide researchers. Studies reveal that the decision-making process of someone who almost died as a result of a suicide attempt was no different from the decision-making process of someone who had never attempted suicide, was not currently suicidal, and did not have a mental illness. This finding lines up with the idea that there can be multiple pathways to suicide.

Szasz and the Law: An Alternative View

1976 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee S. Weinberg ◽  
Richard E. Vatz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Human Freedom ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Previous Issue ◽  
Medical Models ◽  
Institutional Psychiatry ◽  
Thomas Szasz

In a previous issue C. G. Schoenfeld attempted to disprove Thomas Szasz’ theory that mental illness is a “myth” and to dispute Szasz’ contention that current views of “mental illness” promote violent subjugation of human freedom in institutional and legal settings. This article argues that typical of many who criticize Dr. Szasz, Mr. Schoenfeld misunderstands and misrepresents Szasz’ rich theoretical arguments concerning “mental illness” and the prevalent use in law and institutional psychiatry of medical models for analyzing human behavior. Additionally, the authors urge responsible researchers to further pursue the implications of an accurate understanding of Szasz’ arguments for legal theory and practice.

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