For those interested, Thomas Szasz has a letter to the editor in today's
NYTimes (3/13/01). It's short enough for me to reproduce in its entirety
(any typos are my own):
===================
To the Editor:
Re. "A Brain Too Young for Good Judgment" (Op-Ed, March 10): Daniel
R. Weinberger asserts that "the evidence is unequivocal that the prefrontal
cortex of a 15-year-old is biologically immature... the 15-year-old does not
have the biological machinery to inhibit impulses in the service of
long-range planning".
Until recent times, children who reached biological maturity,
typically around the age of 13, were treated as adults. Benjamin Franklin
was an apprentice printer at age 12, and his brain was evidently well enough
developed to plan for the future.
Mr. Weinberger's disclaimer -- "this brief lesson in brain
development is not meant to absolve criminal behavior" -- is unpersuasive.
That's exactly what it is. Such fashionable neurologizing of bad behavior is
destructive of civilized discourse and human relations.
Thomas Szasz, M.D.
Syracuse, March 10, 2001
The writer is professor emeritus of psychiatry at SUNY
===================
Paul Smith
Alverno College
Milwaukee
