The role of the evolutionary approach in psychiatry

Abstract

The additional dimension of evolution- ary or ultimate causation enables asking “why” questions alongside the “how” questions that are focused on proximate caus- es, and this enables the construction of more accurate and complete models of biological systems.------------------------------- Unlike existing classification systems that are either deliberately atheoretical or syndromal (ICD and DSM) or take a bottom-up biological approach (Research Domain Criteria), evolutionary approaches to classification tend to utilize high-level organizing principles derived from evo- lutionary insights regarding the adaptive significance of various brain systems, while remaining compatible with existing classification systems.