Evolutionary Psychopathology
A Unified Approach
Marco Del Giudice
Reviews and Awards
"Darwin has finally met Freud, in the first true synthesis of evolutionary biology with psychiatry and psychology. The result -- this book -- is an insightful and deeply-novel analysis of why and how we as humans are beset with a specific range of mental illnesses, in the context of our evolutionary history." -- Bernard Crespi, Simon Fraser University
"Marco Del Giudice, an innovative and prolific evolutionary thinker, has produced a highly accessible text on evolutionary psychopathology through a combination of rigorous scholarship and great eloquence. He proposes a novel and eminently plausible framework for rethinking the nature and classification of mental disorder based on life history theory and emotional defenses. In my view, this text is destined to become essential reading for all psychiatrists and psychologists interested in understanding the place of evolution in shaping human nature." -- Riadh Abed, FRCPsych, Founding Chair of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group, Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
"Evolutionary Psychopathology provides a framework integrating not only the extensive but fragmented literature on evolutionary psychology and psychopathology, but also a variety of other research lines emerging in this period of Kuhnian 'extraordinary science'. I believe that psychologists and psychiatrists of different theoretical orientations should be aware of the author's 'life history theory', and try to test it in research and clinical settings." -- Mario Maj, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Naples
"Still divided between the biomedical model and the psychosocial perspective, psychiatry urgently needs new theoretical frameworks to regain scientific credibility. By integrating in a masterful manner data from epidemiology, developmental psychology, and neurobiology, Marco Del Giudice shows the potential of life history theory in improving our understanding of the origin of mental disorders. Evolutionary Psychopathology fills a void in psychopathology research and should be a mandatory addition to the reference libraries of evolutionary psychiatrists." -- Alfonso Troisi, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Rome Tor Vergata