The Gadfly Manifesto

Psychiatry & Society

"A gadfly is a person who interferes with the status quo of a society or community by posing novel, potentially upsetting questions, usually directed at authorities."¹

H. Steven Moffic, MD, reflects on the role of the gadfly. Socrates, shares Moffic, was known as the gadfly of Athens because he did so much to provoke citizens. Moffic too is known as a gadfly.

This rumination was caused by a few recent columns in Psychiatric Times:

• "Socrates’ Choice: A Philosophical Perspective on Euthanasia, Suicide, and Assisted Suicide" by Vincenzo Di Nicola, MPhil, MD, PhD, FCAHS, DLFAPA, DFCPA, FACPsych
• "The Manifesto in the 21st Century: From Art to Politics to the Psy Disciplines—Part 1" by Vincenzo Di Nicola, MPhil, MD, PhD, FCAHS, DLFAPA, DFCPA, FACPsych
• "Slow Thought in a Fast City" by Vincenzo Di Nicola, MPhil, MD, PhD, FCAHS, DLFAPA, DFCPA, FACPsych

You can read the discussion on assisted suicide here:

• "Deciding How to Die" by H. Steven Moffic, MD
• "Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Provided by Physicians: A Response to H. Steven Moffic, MD" by Mark S. Komrad, MD, DFAPA
• "A Response to Mark S. Komrad, MD, DFAPA: My Main Concern Was With Personal Autonomy and Dignity, Not Physician-Assisted Suicide" by H. Steven Moffic, MD

Do you know any gadflies?

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.

Reference

1. Gadfly (philosophy and social science). Wikipedia. Accessed April 30, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadfly_(philosophy_and_social_science)