Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New Beginning [Library Binding]

Anthony Stevens (Author), John Price (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 1996

Challenging a medical model which has supplied few effective answers to long-standing conundrums, this text proposes a 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 science of Darwinian psychiatry is 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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anthony Stevens is a psychiatrist and Jungian analyst in London and author of several books, including On Jung (1990). John Price is a psychiatrist and retired Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 288 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2nd Revised edition edition (October 8, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415138396
• ISBN-13: 978-0415138390
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,734,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book to read if you are interested in evolutionary psychiatry, February 3, 2006

By 

Arkadiy Dubovoy (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evolutionary Psychiatry, second edition: A New Beginning (Paperback)

Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New Beginning is a thoughtful and systematic discussion of main psychiatric concepts approached from evolutionary perspective. The book is written by two psychiatrists and Oxford graduates with a life-long interest in evolutionary psychiatry.
In order to understand this book you must be familiar fairly well with the psychiatric terms and concepts. The second requirement is being familiar with the modern theory of evolution. It is unfortunate, in my opinion, that this book does not contain any meaningful discussion of modern evolutionary concepts.

Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New Beginning is a fairly advanced scientific text, which is structured as a psychiatric textbook. This book, however, is not a textbook of evolutionary psychiatry. The theories described in this book are either developed or supported by Drs. Stevens and Price. Other ideas are, at best, mentioned in passing. The book is, therefore, necessarily biased.
The authors mentioned that they were criticized for trying to jump ahead of the main pack of researchers. Although the contributions of Drs. Stevens and Price to the field are substantial, there may be some truth in those allegations.
Writing a textbook requires a certain critical mass of knowledge on the subject to become commonly accepted, if not indisputable. Evolutionary psychology and psychiatry have not amassed the necessary amount of accepted facts and theories yet. The other reason why evolutionary psychiatry remains largely speculative is that the very scientific basis of it - the modern evolutionary theory - is far from having certain answers to too many questions (for example, T. J. Crow's theory of schizophrenia and language development is based on the controversial evolutionary theory of punctuated equilibria). Also, the reader must keep in mind that evolutionary theory (especially the ideas of group selection) as related to medical science has been developing very rapidly in the last several years.

One of the main original contributions claimed by the authors is their group-splitting theory of schizophrenia. Readers should be aware that there are several other equally interesting and convincing, in my opinion, theories of schizophrenia development: there are individual selection theories which explain the origin of schizophrenia as an unfortunate by-product of the development of human cognition, creativity, and language; there is even a theory which explains schizophrenia-related personality traits as valuable not for group-splitting, but for group-sustaining function (shamanism) - quite the opposite conclusion!

Unfortunately, the appearance of this book is very misleading. A stylized portrait of Charles Darwin and pictures of a gorilla and a Rolex watch on the book's canary-yellow cover do not convey the seriousness of the text. I can understand why some people, deceived by its frivolous appearance, mistake this book for a pop-psychology manual and are disappointed by the content.

Having expressed my criticisms, I think that the evolutionary based classification of psychiatric illnesses offered by the authors deserves careful consideration and analysis. The book is written in the lucid and understandable style characteristic of all Dr. Stevens' books. I enjoyed this book very much, and I recommend it to health care professionals interested in psychology and psychiatry. Evolutionary approach in psychology and psychiatry is becoming widely accepted, and it is worth your time and effort to explore. If nothing else, this book is worth reading and enjoying as a good example of an elegant scientific discussion.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful re-visioning of Jungian psychology, December 29, 2003

By 

Stephen P. Manning (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New Beginning (Paperback)

Stevens has long been an almost lone champion of the biological aspect of Jungian thought. While Jung himself spent most of his energy on the products of the psyche --dreams and mythology-- he was very clear that at base he was talking about the common biological and genetic inheritance and structures of the human species. The archetypal theory is rooted in an observation of the instinctual patterns of the species. Beginning a dialogue with the emerging work of evolutionary psychology helps to anchor some of Jung's basic theories in a more contemporarily scientific frame (something he himself always insisted was crucial to his self-understanding as an empiricist). Stevens' contribution can help to balance the sometimes lopsided captivity of Jungian thought to such disparate enterprises as psychoanalysis and Goddess ecofeminism.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good primer, November 28, 2007

By 

Rosanna Tarsiero (Pisa, Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Evolutionary Psychiatry, second edition: A New Beginning (Paperback)

The topic of this book is a very interesting one, and the book itself does delivery what promised.

However, while some chapters contain pristine accounts of how disorders concerning mood and anxiety are linked to the evolution of rank and affiliation traits, others (schizophrenia and borderline disorder) fail to explain symptoms from an evolutionary perspective. Furthermore, Stevens grounds his work more in psychoanalytical psychology (Jung, Bowlby) than in psychiatry.

Overall, this is a good primer, and some chapters might also be included in undergraduate syllabi in an evolutionary psychiatry classes.