Re: I've mastered moderate alcohol use/vs.helplessness

[Guest guest]

Hi Jim

This one could run and run, so I'll try to keep it brief. I would say

that psychiatry contains a mixture of scientific and non-scientific

practices. Human behavior is more complex than rats and bell pushes

and hence more global, less specific terms must be used to describe

it. If a patient reports that the Democrats have planted a radio in

his brain ordering him to commit suicide and monitoring his thoughts

for example, this will be a unique experience but with broad

similarity to other things that paranoid ppl report. If after

administration of an antipsychotic that patient loses all trace of

that symptom and looks back acknowledging the claims were delusional

this could be said to be effective treatment of the paranoia. Such

treatments are not administered on an anecdotal basis but evaluated by

clinical trial, and hence imo scientific.

P.

>

> > You gotta stop reading that Szasz Jim! I think we need to define

> our

> > terms here carfully. Let me agree for purpose of argument that

> > psychiatry is merely an institution of social control. Even if

> true,

> > I would say that psychiatry *scientifically* pursues that

> objective.

> > One does not judge a discipline a pseudoscience on the legitimacy

> of

> > its objectives (apart from commitment to truth-seeking, science is

> > value free) but on its modus operandi. Psychiatry generally uses

> the

> > same protocols for development of its treatment that general

> medicine

> > does, which I believe are as scientific as possible oprating

within

> > ethical constraints. Whatever or not Psychiatry may be up to, and

> > whether or not it is ethical or not, I believe it is pursuing its

> > objectives scientifically. Ironically, for those who see

> Psychiatry

> > as Nazi-Lite, I would say that if it were indeed only a

> pseudoscience

> > and employed homeopathic 'remedies' say then they would have far

> less

> > cause to find it threatening.

> >

> > P.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/2/01 4:45:55 PM Pacific Standard Time,

wn115@... writes:

<< It would be nice to see the medical profession admit that psychiatry

is nothing but a dirty extracurricular activity that has nothing to

do with medicine or science; that it offers the consumer nothing that

can't be provided by a family doctor, namely, a handfull of

psychotropic medications that some of their clients may find

beneficial for reasons that have nothing to do with quack theories.

hey, maybe they would sleep better at night.

Jim >>

Jim, IMHO, I think you need to be more informed and educated re:

medicine and science. Making it the devil (you are a christian aren't you)

is hardly appropriate.

You wouldn't be a scientologist would you? Piper.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/2/01 4:45:55 PM Pacific Standard Time,

wn115@... writes:

<< It would be nice to see the medical profession admit that psychiatry

is nothing but a dirty extracurricular activity that has nothing to

do with medicine or science; that it offers the consumer nothing that

can't be provided by a family doctor, namely, a handfull of

psychotropic medications that some of their clients may find

beneficial for reasons that have nothing to do with quack theories.

hey, maybe they would sleep better at night.

Jim >>

Jim, IMHO, I think you need to be more informed and educated re:

medicine and science. Making it the devil (you are a christian aren't you)

is hardly appropriate.

You wouldn't be a scientologist would you? Piper.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/2/01 4:45:55 PM Pacific Standard Time,

wn115@... writes:

<< It would be nice to see the medical profession admit that psychiatry

is nothing but a dirty extracurricular activity that has nothing to

do with medicine or science; that it offers the consumer nothing that

can't be provided by a family doctor, namely, a handfull of

psychotropic medications that some of their clients may find

beneficial for reasons that have nothing to do with quack theories.

hey, maybe they would sleep better at night.

Jim >>

Jim, IMHO, I think you need to be more informed and educated re:

medicine and science. Making it the devil (you are a christian aren't you)

is hardly appropriate.

You wouldn't be a scientologist would you? Piper.