No further evidence is needed to show that 'mental illness' is not the name of a biological condition whose nature awaits to be elucidated, but is the name of a concept whose purpose is to obscure the obvious.
Thomas SzaszRead
Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Boredom signifies a lack of engagement, while serenity reflects a deep sense of contentment with the present moment.
In this quote, Thomas Szasz contrasts two emotional states: boredom and serenity. He suggests that boredom arises from a perception that activities lack value or purpose, leading to a feeling of wasted time. In contrast, serenity embodies a sense of peace and acceptance, where one realizes that even the simplest moments hold significance, thus transcending feelings of wastefulness.
Themes
BoredomSerenityTimeContentmentValue
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about mindfulness, one might say, 'Remember that boredom is just a perception; embrace serenity instead.'
More from Thomas Szasz
All quotes βClassifying thoughts, feelings and behaviors as diseases is a logical and semantic error, like classifying whale as fish.
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Addiction, obesity, starvation (anorexia nervosa) are political problems, not psychiatric: each condense and expresses a contest between the individual and some other person or persons in his environment over the control of the individual's body.
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In the past, men created witches: now they create mental patients.
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Self-respect is to the soul as oxygen is to the body. Deprive a person of oxygen, and you kill his body; deprive him of self-respect and you kill his spirit.
Thomas SzaszRead
Adulthood is the ever-shrinking period between childhood and old age. It is the apparent aim of modern industrial societies to reduce this period to a minimum.
Thomas SzaszRead
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