Origins of Psychopathology: The Phylogenetic and Cultural Basis of Mental Illness
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Book Info
Text covers psychiatry and evolutionary biology, psychopathology during human biological evolution, and recapitulation and synthesis. Discusses if mental illness occurs in primates and other animals, and if so, what does this tell us about mental illness in human evolution? Author is with Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.
From the Back Cover
What are the origins of human psychopathology? Is mental illness a relatively recent phenomenon, or has it been with us throughout evolution? Can something so seemingly cultural and contemporary have a phylogenetic history?
In Origins of Psychopathology, Horacio Fábrega Jr. employs principles of evolutionary biology to better understand the significance of mental illness. He explores whether what psychiatry has categorized as mental disorders could have existed during earlier phases of human evolution. Fábrega approaches the prominent features of mental disorders as adaptive responses to the environment and life's circumstances, which in turn can only be understood in the context of our evolutionary past. Taking his cue from theoretical issues raised by research into primate behavior and early hominid evolution, he poses the questions: What was involved in the shift from animal to human varieties of psychopathology? Does mental illness occur in primates and other animals, and if so, what does this tell us about mental illness in human evolution? How has mental illness played an adaptive role? How has the development of language and higher cognitive functions affected characteristics of psychopathology? Fábrega synthesizes insights from both the clinical and the evolutionary points of view. This facet of psychopathology, which involves its origins and manifestations viewed across the expanse of human evolution, has, until now, been largely neglected in psychiatric education, theory, and practice.
Origins of Psychopathology: The Phylogenetic and Cultural Basis of Mental Illness
Origins of Psychopathology: The Phylogenetic and Cultural Basis of Mental Illness,Horacio, Jr., M.D. Fabrega,Rutgers University Press,0813530237,Etiology,Genetic aspects,Genetic psychology,History,Life Sciences - Biology - General,Life Sciences - Evolution - Human,Medical Genetics,Mental Disorders,Mental Illness,Psychology,Psychopathology - General,Social aspects
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