--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We achieve active mastery over illness…" description: "\"We achieve active mastery over illness and death by delegating all responsibility for their management to physicians, and by exiling the sick and the d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/thomas-szasz-3801_achieve_we-achieve-active-mastery-over-illness-a_1972578.jpg" --- # We achieve active mastery over illness and death by… ![“We achieve active mastery over illness and death by delegating all responsibility for their management to physicians, and by exiling the sick and the dying to hospitals. But hospitals serve the convenience of staff not patients: we cannot be properly ill in a hospital, nor die in one decently; we…” quote by Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/thomas-szasz-3801_achieve_we-achieve-active-mastery-over-illness-a_1972578.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/thomas-szasz-3801_achieve_we-achieve-active-mastery-over-illness-a_1972578.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/thomas-szasz-3801_achieve_we-achieve-active-mastery-over-illness-a_1972578.jpg) > “We achieve active mastery over illness and death by delegating all responsibility for their management to physicians, and by exiling the sick and the dying to hospitals. But hospitals serve the convenience of staff not patients: we cannot be properly ill in a hospital, nor die in one decently; we can do so only among those who love and value us. The result is the institutionalized dehumanization of the ill, characteristic of our age.” [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. The quote argues that modern medicine removes personal responsibility for illness and death, turning hospitals into impersonal institutions that dehumanize patients. **In simple terms:** Hospitals make illness and death feel impersonal and dehumanizing. Key Takeaway Reclaim personal agency in health and end. Themes healthcare humanity institutionalization death illness Mood critical reflective Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - home care - palliative care - patient advocacy - community support Key Concepts Medical ethics patient autonomy social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance professional care with personal dignity? - What alternatives exist to institutional care? A Different Perspective Hospitals also provide critical life‑saving care that cannot be ignored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieve/) [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/) [Convenience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convenience/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dehumanization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dehumanization/) [Dehumanization Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dehumanization-ill-3320352/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Dying Hospitals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying-hospitals-3320356/) [Hospital Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospital-die-3320354/) [Hospitals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospitals/) [Hospitals Serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospitals-serve-3320353/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Illness and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness-and-death/) [Institutionalized Dehumanization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutionalized-dehumanization-3320355/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Mastery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mastery/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patient/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) [Staff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staff/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Tucker was my safe place for three years, my secure dock in a sea of indecision as I dealt with my father's illness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-brown/tucker-was-my-safe-place-for-three-years-my-secure-dock-in-a-sea-of/) [Melissa Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-brown/) > [I will tell you something about stories . . . 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