Origins of Psychopathology: The Phylogenetic and Cultural Basis of Mental Illness [Library Binding]

Horacio Jr. Fábrega (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0813530237 | ISBN-13: 978-0813530239 | Edition: 1st

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.

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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.

About the Author

Horacio Fábrega Jr., M.D. is a professor of psychiatry and anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of Disease and Social Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, Evolution of Sickness and Healing, and coauthor of Illness and Shamanistic Curing in Zincatan.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 412 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press; 1st edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813530237
• ISBN-13: 978-0813530239
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,664,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too long, too vague, August 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Origins of Psychopathology: The Phylogenetic and Cultural Basis of Mental Illness (Library Binding)

The author mainly tries to link work on primate behaviour and theories of social evolution with the occurance of un-social (psychopathologically induced) behaviour in non human primates and hominids. This is a brave attempt and deserves respect. The main strength of the book is its lage bibliography. However, the style is vague and topics dealt with very redundant. Cutting the book down to half or a quater of its size and focusing it would have done really good!