The plague of mankind is the fear and rejection of diversity: monotheism, monarchy, monogamy and, in our age, monomedicine. The belief that there is only one right way to live, only one right way to regulate religious, political, sexual, medical affairs is the root cause of the greatest threat to man: members of his own species, bent on ensuring his salvation, security, and sanity.

— Thomas Szasz

The pressure to reduce health care costs is aimed only at the treatment of real diseases. There is no pressure to reduce the costs of treating fictitious diseases. On the contrary, there is pressure to define ever more types of undesirable behaviors as mental disorders or addictions and to spend ever more tax dollars on developing new psychiatric diagnoses and facilities for storing and treating the victims of such diseases, whose members now include alcoholics, drug abusers, smokers, overwaters, self-starters, gamblers, etc.

— Thomas Szasz

The principal differences between law and science are as follows:1. In the administration of the law, facts are necessary to enable the umpire (jury, judge) to decide whether rules have been broken and, if so, the type of penalty to apply. In science, facts are necessary to form new or better theories and to develop novel applications (for example, drugs, machines). Novelty is not a positive value in law. Instead, the lawyer looks for precedent. For the scientist, however, novelty is a value; new facts and theories are sought, whether they will prove useful. 2. If we endeavor to change objects or persons, the distinction between law (both as law making and law enforcing) and applied science disappears. In applying scientific knowledge, one seeks to change objects, or persons, into new forms. The scientific technologist may thus wish to shape a plastic material into the form of a chair, or a delinquent youth into a law-abiding adult. The aims of the legislator and the judge are often the same. Thus, legislators may wish to change people from drinkers into nondrinkers; or judges many want to change fathers who fail to support their dependent wives and children into fathers who do. This [is a] "therapeutic" function of law.

— Thomas Szasz

The proverb warns that "You should not bite that hand that feeds you." But maybe you should if it prevents you from feeding yourself.

— Thomas Szasz

The proverb warns that "You should not bite the hand that feeds you." But maybe you should if it prevents you from feeding yourself.

— Thomas Szasz

The proverb warns that, 'You should not bite the hand that feeds you.' But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself.

— Thomas Szasz

There are two kinds of 'disabled' persons: Those who dwell on what they have lost and those who concentrate on what they have left.

— Thomas Szasz

The self is not something that one finds. It is something one creates.

— Thomas Szasz

The sense of national emergency engendered by war transforms the destruction of dissident opinion into patriotism.

— Thomas Szasz

The stupid neither forgive nor forget the naive forgive and forget the wise forgive but do not forget.

— Thomas Szasz