Stefan Molyneux -- There is no such thing as mental illness.


jts

Recommended Posts

Then there's no such thing as a metaphor.

You can define "mental illness" into and out of existence. In the meantime hope you're not in any situation of having to deal with whatever it's called for something crappy is going on.

--Brant

I try not to watch videos, especially long ones and especially if Thomas Szaz was there first

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps. But there are neurological dysfunctions. The wet works -can- get sick or damaged

Ba'al Chatzaf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw the beginning. I couldn't go on.

Talk about arguing by nonessentials!

Molyneux defines mental illness as "a disease or deficiency caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that is corrected by psychiatric drugs."

And he says that does not exist.

Well do they exist?

Chemical imbalances that are corrected by drugs?

Hell yes, they exist. Not in all cases, but in some.

And aren't the results from such "correction" all over the place in terms of efficacy, side effects, unintended consequences, etc.?

Hell yes again.

Regardless, that is not a proper definition of mental illness.

Why do I need to listen to someone try to prove unicorns that he calls horses don't exist?

Maybe he should go into Scientology. They have a strong anti-psychiatry movement and make a hell of a lot more money than he does. I see a few strong parallels between the two (but not all that many, to be fair).

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's an update on Molyneux.

No wonder mental illness for him is not really mental illness.

It's a marketing tool!

:smile:

Controversial podcaster listened in on therapist wife and clients: lawsuit
Tu Thanh Ha
Dec. 19, 2014
The Globe and Mail

From the article:

Already controversial for counselling his followers to shun their parents, a Toronto-area podcaster is facing allegations he listened in on his therapist wife as she met with distraught patients.

Stefan Molyneux is a self-described libertarian philosopher. His wife, Christina Papadopoulos, is a psychological associate in Mississauga.

The College of Psychologists of Ontario found Ms. Papadopoulos guilty of professional misconduct in November, 2012, faulting her for adopting Mr. Molyneux’s views and using the Internet to counsel people to sever ties with their families.

. . .

In the recent lawsuit, the Texas woman, identified as J. Raven, says in her complaint that she started a YouTube channel criticizing Mr. Molyneux after discovering his podcasts and his boast that his website, Freedomain Radio, is the “most popular philosophical conversation in the world.”

Her lawsuit said one of her video criticisms quoted from a Molyneux podcast in which he said “that he listens in on his wife’s confidential sessions with her patients in her home office and interferes with the therapy sessions to suggest the patients join and donate to Freedomain Radio.”

The comments are not in the version of podcast 291 now on Mr. Molyneux’s YouTube channel, but are in a longer version Ms. Raven provided after a request from The Globe and Mail.

In the version provided by Ms. Raven, Mr. Molyneux states that it is June 21, 2006. He then speaks about listening in as his wife meets with “messed up and sobbing” clients at her home office.

“I'm in the vent system, listening, and I’m – she calls it heckling, but I don’t really call it heckling, I just call it providing suggestions about how things should go and that the people should donate to Freedomain Radio,” he says in the podcast.

“I mean, it takes them a while to figure what on Earth that is, but I do, sort of, try to put my two cents in and Christina says that sometimes can be distracting and so on. But even with the combined weight of her, directly in front of them, and me, my ghostly voice floating in through the vents, they still have trouble making the kind of personal changes that really have a positive effect on their lives.”

. . .

Ms. Papadopoulos appeared before a disciplinary panel of the college in 2012 after two formal complaints that she offered improper advice on podcasts she made with Mr. Molyneux.

The college said she advocated a practice called deFOOing, or dissociating from one’s family of origin. “Your statements in support of deFOOing are not supported by current professional literature or consistent with the standards,” the panel ruled.

It added: “Your objectivity, competence and effectiveness were compromised by financial interests since you and the Freedomain Radio website … actively solicited donations.”

She was found guilty and reprimanded.


For something that doesn't exist, Molyneux seems to have made some pretty good predatory money at it.

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, Michael, humans are natural predators. That's why we have eyes up front and not to the side. Human game is where the big action is for humans. They usually come with property. Didn't you ever see the movie--or read the story--The Most Dangerous Game? What a blast! Top of the line purely recreational hunting! (Taxidermy service available.)

--Brant

getting ready for a hunt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brant,

Do you mean this one, also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff"?

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

(That's the text for anyone who wants to read it.)

I read that about a year or so ago when I went through a spell of a few months reading one short story a day. I highly recommend this practice to anyone wishing to become a fiction writer. I think I'm going to do another stretch.

Yeah... I can see the relevance of this story to the article.

:)

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now