Download or read book Evolutionary Psychiatry, second edition written by Anthony Stevens and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-01-14 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.