Evolutionary Psychiatry, second edition: A New Beginning

by Anthony Stevens, John Price

Overview

Challenging a medical model which has supplied few effective answers to long-standing conundrums, Evolutionary Psychiatry proposes a new conceptual framework for psychiatry based on Darwinian theory.

Anthony Stevens and John Price argue that psychiatric symptoms are manifestations of ancient adaptive strategies which are no longer necessarily appropriate but which can best be understood and treated in an evolutionary and developmental context. They propose theories to account for the widespread existence of affective disorders, borderline states and schizophrenia, as well as offering solutions for puzzles such as sadomasochism and the function of dreams.

This comprehensive introduction to the new science of Darwinian Psychiatry is readily accessible to both the specialist and non-specialist reader. It describes in detail the disorders and conditions commonly encountered in psychiatric practice and show how evolutionary theory can account for their biological origins and functional nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317724698
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/14/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	328
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

John Price, Anthony Stevens

Table of Contents

Part I Evolutionary Psychology: An Introduction 1. Historical Background 2. Human Nature: Its Evolution and Development 3. Principles of Psychopathology 4. Attachment, Rank and Psychiatry Part II 5. Affective Disorders 6. Personality Disorders 7. Obsessional Disorders 8. Anxiety and Phobic Disorders 9. Eating Disorders Part III 10. The Borderline State 11. Borderline Personality Disorders Part IV 12. Spacing and Personality Disorders 13. Schizophrenia Part V Reproductive Disorders 14. Reproductive Success and Failure 15. Homosexuality 16. Sadomasochism 17. Paedophilia Part VI Dreams, Treatment, Research and the Future 18. Sleep and Dreams 19. Classification 20. Treatment 21. Research 22. Towards a Science of Humanity

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Michael Schrift, DO (University of Washington School of Medicine)
Description: This is the second edition of this interesting theoretical book on an evolutionary understanding of psychopathology. Written by clinician-researchers in the field, this book is a valuable contribution to the literature.
Purpose: The purpose, according to the authors, is to update the original text with new material on the chapters covering pedophilia and research. In addition, changes were made on schizotypal personality disorder and the group selection theory of schizophrenia.
Audience: The intended audience, although not stated by the authors, is psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychopathology researchers.
Features: The book features 310 pages divided into 6 sections and 22 chapters, including a glossary, bibliography, and index. Part I is an overview of evolutionary psychiatry with chapters covering the historical background, development, principles of psychopathology, and a chapter on attachment theory. Part II covers disorders the authors theorize as deficits in attachment and rank: mood, personality, obsession, anxiety, and eating disorders. Part III relates evolutionary theory to so-called borderline states. Part IV covers schizophrenia conceptualized as a spacing disorder. Part V reviews homosexuality, sadomasochism, and pedophilia in relation to evolutionary theory. Part VI reviews dreams and sleep, psychiatric classification, treatment research, and a proposal for further developing this theory of psychopathology. References are up-to-date and the index and glossary sections are useful.
Assessment: This intriguing book relates psychopathology to evolutionary theory. There are some problems, such as the resurrection of Jungian theories and jury-rigging them to Darwin's theory. The authors also believe that medical model cannot incorporate evolutionary theory. That depends on your definition of the medical model. The basis of psychiatry is and will be in the future, neuroscience. Neuroscience incorporates evolutionary theory. Isn't that the medical model? Readers of this book will, without a doubt, be intellectually stimulated. I recommend it.

Doody's Review Service

‘Anthony Stevens and John Price have got together in Evolutionary Psychiatry to propose a "revolutionary" new way of understanding mental illness by means of Darwinian theory. They argue persuasively that conditions like depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and schizophrenia are the result of environmental maladaptation of strategies embedded in the phylogenetic makeup of the human species.' - British Medical Journal

'The authors modestly claim that their book is no more than a first effort to define the basic components of human behaviour and its disorders in terms of evolutionary biology ... In my view, this attempt at a new paradigm is one of the most fruitful developments in psychiatry in recent years.' - Anthony Storr, the Financial Times

'Warmly recommended.' - Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian

'The book serves as a thought-provoking introduction to a young and rapidly growing area of research. I suspect that the authors' claim that "psychiatry is entering the most exciting phase in its history" may prove correct.' - Stuart Blackman, New Scientist

'The book is written with crystal clarity, and the discussion is detailed, and thoroughly well referenced. This book cannot be the whole story, but it is an excellent introduction to a most important perspective on psychiatry and human behaviour.' - Hollistic Health No 54 Autumn 1997

'This book will be of interest to psychiatrists working in many areas and should be available in medical libraries' - British Journal of Psychiatry

From the Publisher