From one of the most renowned and controversial thinkers in behavioral science, here is a critical examination of the way both science and society define insanity. Attacking the universally accepted psychiatric doctrines that blur the distinction between literal and metaphoric diseases, Szasz argues that insanity is not an objectively definable or identifiable condition, and presents a more fully rounded account of the insanity concept, showing how it relates to and differs from three closely allied ideas - bodily illness, social deviance and the sick role. The book reveals why it is impossible truly to understand psychiatric problems without first distinguishing an abnormal biological condition - like diabetes - from the sick role.