Medical science needs a clear, objective demarcation between disease and nondisease. Our current, elastic definition of disease imperils the scientific integrity of medical scientists and clear thinking about illness and treatment by physicians, patients, politicians, and the public.

Thomas S. Szasz (1920–2012) was professor of psychiatry emeritus at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, and an advisory board member of The Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif.
Health and Healthcare
Other Independent Review articles by Thomas S. Szasz
Spring 2001 The Therapeutic State: The Tyranny of Pharmacracy
Spring 1997 The Case Against Psychiatric Coercion