Darwinian Blues: Evolutionary Psychiatry and Depression

Abstract

Psychiatry is in disarray. Case in point: psychiatry’s primary classification manual has been under attack almost since the nosological revolution initiated by the DSM-III. The latest version – the DSM-5 – was not even published when criticism of it began. From many corners of psychiatry, voices were heard that urged a reclassification of mental disorders based on research in neuroscience and genetics as a solution to psychiatry’s current situation. A radically different solution has been proposed to ‘cure’ the DSM of its alleged ailments: to build (or rebuild) it based on an evolutionary understanding of disorders. Indeed, advocates of evolutionary psychiatry believe that psychiatry could benefit from the adoption of an evolutionary perspective by providing a new understanding of specific mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, phobia, autism, etc. In this paper, I will focus my attention on two recent explanations of depression that adopt an evolutionary-style: Nesse’s, and Andrews and Thomson’s. In this paper, I will present their respective positions in regards to depression. I will then present some reasons as to why one should remain unconvinced by these explanations of depression.