Maladapting Minds

ISBN-13: 9780199558667 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 344 str.

Andreas De Block; Pieter R. Adriaens

Opis

Ever since Darwin, psychiatrists have been tempted to put evolutionary theory to use in their efforts to understand and explain mental disorders. Varying in success, scope and scientific rigour, these attempts have often caught the attention of philosophers. There are many studies about how the philosophy of psychiatry has been informed by twentieth-century 'continental' philosophy (in focusing on topics such as embodiment, narrativity and gender) as well as 'analytic' philosophy (in focusing on more conceptual issues). Thus far, however, there are simply no studies about how philosophical issues in psychiatric theory and practice can be, and have been informed by evolutionary theory. The Insane Animal explores the relationship between evolutionary theory and philosophy of psychiatry. In particular, it discusses a number of reasons why philosophers of psychiatry should take an interest in evolutionary explanations of mental disorders, and, more generally, in evolutionary thinking. The many chapters deal with evolutionary accounts of various mental disorders, including phobias, fetishism, developmental disorders, depression, autism spectrum disorders, and schizophrenia. Written by both world-class philosophers, psychologists and evolutionary psychiatrists, this volume illustrates that many debates in contemporary philosophy of psychiatry are profoundly influenced by evolutionary approaches to mental disorders. In doing so, it represents the very first attempts to critically explore the interface between evolutionary theory and philosophy of psychiatry. It is important reading for psychiatrists, philosophers of mind, and evolutionary pschologists.

O autorze

Pieter R. Adriaens is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Leuven's Institute of Philosophy. He was a visiting scholar at the universities of Montpellier and Cambridge (UK), and a participant observer in various mental hospitals in Belgium. Most of his work is about the history and philosophy of evolutionary psychiatry, but he has also published on evolutionary accounts of homosexuality and homophobia. He plays Fender Rhodes in a post-rock trio called Grim, and is an avid collector of mid-century modern design and decorative arts. Andreas De Block is assistant professor at the University of Leuven's Institute of Philosophy. He studied philosophy, psychology and sexology at the universities of Gent and Leuven, and was a VENI-fellow of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). He is the author and editor of numerous books about philosophy, psychiatry and psychoanalysis, and has a keen interest in cultural evolution, as well as the integration of evolutionary theory and the social sciences.