A list of all the books I’ve reviewed
Can a person live a flourishing, purpose-filled life in spite of chronic illness and near constant pain? According to author Suzy Szasz, the answer is a resounding, "yes". Szasz's book, Lupus. Living With It: Why You Don't Have To Be Healthy to Be Happy, is written with an enthusiasm for life. Despite her constant battle … Continue reading You Don’t Have to be Healthy to be Happy
Jeffrey Schaler shows that addiction is, in fact, a choice.
What is existentialism and what does it have to do with living a good life? According to William Irwin, author of The Free Market Existentialist: Capitalism without Consumerism, existentialism is a philosophy of life that: ...reacts to an apparently absurd or meaningless world by urging the individual to overcome alienation, oppression, and despair through freedom … Continue reading The Free Market Existentialist: Capitalism without Consumerism
Can the mind be reduced to mere physio-chemical properties? Are experiences, thoughts, and feelings simply the product of chemical reactions in our brain? Atheist philosopher, Thomas Nagel, rejects such a view of the mind. In his book Mind and Cosmos, Nagel points out that belief in the material reductionist view of the mind is almost … Continue reading Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False
For those interested in freedom, psychiatry and Thomas Szasz, the book Faith in Freedom gives the reader insight into Szasz’ commitment to freedom and personal autonomy. For Szasz, freedom is his religion. Szasz was an atheist, yet admits that humans by their very nature are religious beings. Pretending that one can free oneself from the … Continue reading Faith in Freedom: Libertarian Principles and Psychiatric Practices
What is Autonomous Psychotherapy? The Ethics of Psychoanalysis is a brilliant book on how to practice ethical psychotherapy. But, what is psychotherapy to a psychiatrist who does not believe in mental illness? To author Thomas Szasz, psychotherapy is a private conversation where people two people talk about values, ethics, and how to live a good … Continue reading The Ethics of Psychoanalysis: The Theory and Method of Autonomous Psychotherapy
Aaron Olson 