"Bernhard Fink"  wrote in message
news:avscet$1o0r$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org...
> Darwinian psychiatry and the concept of mental disorder
>
> ALFONSO TROISI & MICHAEL MCGUIRE
>
> Neuroendocrinology Letters,2002; 23(suppl 4):31-38
>
> In this paper, we discuss the concept of mental disorder from the
> perspective of Darwinian psychiatry.



> The Darwinian concept of mental disorder
> builds from two basic ideas: (1) the capacity to achieve biological
> goals is the best single attribute that characterizes mental health;
> and (2), the assessment of functional capacities cannot be properly
> made without consideration of the environment in which the
> individual lives. These two ideas reflect a concept of mental
> disorder that is both functional and ecological. A correct
> application of evolutionary knowledge should not necessarily lead to
> the conclusion that therapeutic intervention should be limited to
> conditions that jeopardize biological adaptation. Because one of the
> basic aims of medicine is to alleviate human suffering, an
> understanding of the evolutionary foundations of the concept of
> mental disorder should translate into more effective ways for
> promoting individual and social well-being, not into the search for
> natural laws determining what is therapeutically right or wrong.
>
> http://www.nel.edu/23_s4/NEL231002R03_Troisi.htm

This introduction holds some promise of a rather accEPTable analysis! %-|
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