--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no psychology; there is only…" description: "\"There is no psychology; there is only biography and autobiography.\" — Thomas Szasz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/thomas-szasz-3801_autobiography_there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-bio_653924.jpg" --- # There is no psychology; there is only biography and… ![“There is no psychology; there is only biography and autobiography.” quote by Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/thomas-szasz-3801_autobiography_there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-bio_653924.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/thomas-szasz-3801_autobiography_there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-bio_653924.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/thomas-szasz-3801_autobiography_there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-bio_653924.jpg) > “There is no psychology; there is only biography and autobiography.” [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only personal narratives matter; no universal psychology exists. **In simple terms:** Only biographies matter. Key Takeaway Focus on individual stories. Themes individualism psychology autobiography Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - counseling - self‑reflection - historical analysis - medical critique Key Concepts existentialism subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - Can we balance personal narratives with general theory? - What role do cultural norms play? A Different Perspective Overlooks shared human patterns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) [Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biography/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“Let us make sure that future generation writes our biography.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/let-us-make-sure-that-future-generation-writes-our-biography/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [So many people had been asking me to write an autobiography, or threatening to write my biography without any input from me, that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/so-many-people-had-been-asking-me-to-write-an-autobiography-or/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [“The humanitarian philosophies that have been developed (sometimes under some religious banner and invariably in the face of religious opposition) are human inventions, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-kroto/the-humanitarian-philosophies-that-have-been-developed-sometimes/) Harry Kroto > [I wish my BOOK OF LIFE was written in pencil,there are few pages I would like to erase,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wish-my-book-of-life-was-written-in-pencil-there-are-few-pages-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Mistakes? That's why they put erasers on pencils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-barnett/mistakes-that-s-why-they-put-erasers-on-pencils/) Rick Barnett > [I think that I'm busy in the present, and I don't want to go back. Well, there's been an unauthorized biography, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-finney/i-think-that-i-m-busy-in-the-present-and-i-don-t-want-to-go-back-well/) [Albert Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-finney/) > [“Pong had mutated into large stand-up Sega consoles by '82 and here was some extra revenue the guys were well up for. So the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-wilson/pong-had-mutated-into-large-stand-up-sega-consoles-by-82-and-here-was/) [Tony Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-wilson/) > [It's time for male leaders to not only ask for binders of qualified women, but to re-write the definition of 'qualified.' The best man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/it-s-time-for-male-leaders-to-not-only-ask-for-binders-of-qualified/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [“Maybe he'd never come acrross anybody as well versed at objectifying body parts as I was. In my defense, this was an occupational hazard;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-shaw/maybe-he-d-never-come-acrross-anybody-as-well-versed-at-objectifying/) [Aiden Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-shaw/) > [“What drove us crazy wasn't necessarily the sexual freedom his critic claimed he was unleashing, but freedom, period. Freedom to be yourself, to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spector-larry-geller-patricia-romanowski/what-drove-us-crazy-wasn-t-necessarily-the-sexual-freedom-his-critic/) Joel Spector Larry Geller Patricia Romanowski > [I went on a Buddha jag. I read 'Confession of a Buddhist Atheist' by Stephen Batchelor and Karen Armstrong's biography of Buddha, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-o-hare/i-went-on-a-buddha-jag-i-read-confession-of-a-buddhist-atheist-by/) [Denis O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-o-hare/) > [I've read every Madonna biography. I've also looked up every pop star to see how they first made it. The biggest thing I learnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-and-the-diamonds/i-ve-read-every-madonna-biography-i-ve-also-looked-up-every-pop-star/) [Marina and the Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-and-the-diamonds/) > [All Philosophy is Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/all-philosophy-is-biography/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [“If you can choose your way into a cage, you can choose your way out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-kempton/if-you-can-choose-your-way-into-a-cage-you-can-choose-your-way-out/) [Beth Kempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-kempton/) > [I have my own biography of Gram Parsons - I don't want to be part of somebody else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-have-my-own-biography-of-gram-parsons-i-don-t-want-to-be-part-of/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) ## More by Thomas Szasz > [Institutional psychiatry is a continuation of the Inquisition. All that has really changed is the vocabulary and the social style. The vocabulary conforms to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/institutional-psychiatry-is-a-continuation-of-the-inquisition-all/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [By pretending that convention is Nature, that disobeying a personal prohibition is a medical illness, they establish themselves as agents of social control and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/by-pretending-that-convention-is-nature-that-disobeying-a-personal/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [We shall therefore compare the concept of homosexuality as heresy, prevalent in the days of the witch-hunts, with the concept of homosexuality as mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-shall-therefore-compare-the-concept-of-homosexuality-as-heresy/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [The basic ingredients of psychotherapy are religion, rhetoric, and repression, which are themselves mutually overlapping categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-basic-ingredients-of-psychotherapy-are-religion-rhetoric-and/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [For Jews, the Messiah has never come; for Christians, He has come but once; for modern man, He appears and disappears with increasing rapidity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/for-jews-the-messiah-has-never-come-for-christians-he-has-come-but/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [I submit that the traditional definition of psychiatry, which is still vogue, places it alongside such things as alchemy and astrology, and commits it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/i-submit-that-the-traditional-definition-of-psychiatry-which-is-still/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [I believe the time has come to acknowledge that the practice of routine circumcision rests on the absurd premise that the only mammal in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/i-believe-the-time-has-come-to-acknowledge-that-the-practice-of/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [He who does not accept and respect those who want to reject life does not truly accept and respect life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/he-who-does-not-accept-and-respect-those-who-want-to-reject-life-does/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [The passion to interpret as madness that with which we disagree seems to have infected the best of contemporary minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-passion-to-interpret-as-madness-that-with-which-we-disagree-seems/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [We should pledge ourselves to the proposition that the irresponsible life is not worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-should-pledge-ourselves-to-the-proposition-that-the-irresponsible/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [A child becomes an adult when he realizes that he has a right not only to be right but also to be wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/a-child-becomes-an-adult-when-he-realizes-that-he-has-a-right-not/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [We have, in our day, witnessed the birth of the Therapeutic State. This is perhaps the major implication of psychiatry as an institution of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-have-in-our-day-witnessed-the-birth-of-the-therapeutic-state-this/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [The homosexual is a scapegoat who evokes no sympathy. Hence, he can only be a victim, never a martyr.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-homosexual-is-a-scapegoat-who-evokes-no-sympathy-hence-he-can/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [People dream of making the virtuous powerful, so they can depend upon them. Since they cannot do that, people choose to make the powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/people-dream-of-making-the-virtuous-powerful-so-they-can-depend-upon/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [The greatest analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic - in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-greatest-analgesic-soporific-stimulant-tranquilizer-narcotic-and/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) [Explore all 121 Thomas Szasz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) ## More Autobiography quotes > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/) [David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/) > [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/) Craig Briggs > [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/) [Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/) > [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/) [Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/) > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) Linda Simon > [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-melba/if-you-wish-to-understand-me-at-all-and-to-write-an-autobiography-is/) [Nellie Melba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-melba/) > [I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-want-an-autobiography-without-revealing-any-personal-information/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I don't think anyone could write a completely honest autobiography. I am sure no one could bear to read it: My Past Was An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-think-anyone-could-write-a-completely-honest-autobiography-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 642 Autobiography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no psychology; there is only biography and autobiography.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Szasz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-biography-and-autobiography/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autobiography" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-biography-and-autobiography/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/thomas-szasz-3801_autobiography_there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-bio_653924.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/thomas-szasz-3801_autobiography_there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-bio_653924.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/thomas-szasz-3801_autobiography_there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-bio_653924.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no psychology; there is only biography and autobiography.” — Thomas Szasz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Szasz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no psychology; there is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-biography-and-autobiography/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/there-is-no-psychology-there-is-only-biography-and-autobiography/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```