From Biology to Being
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65828/tdkwzq61Keywords:
Evolution, natural selection, ultimate causes, proximate causes.Abstract
Despite the popularity of evolutionary thinking across the intellectual landscape, existential therapy seems to not to have engaged with it a great deal. This paper argues that evolutionary theory can enrich our understanding of people and their lives – especially in relation to the ontological givens people face. It is suggested that a greater engagement with his theory might prompt thinking about a more holistic way of understanding our clients, rather than running the risk many psychotherapists face of getting stuck in the ghetto of one particular model.
Complete access to the full archive of articles is available with SEA membership. Existing members: please log in with your membership password to view full text. Non-members can buy a single article or issue by registering an account on this website, then selecting a padlocked full text button to purchase.
References
Abed, R.T. (1998). The sexual competition hypothesis for eating disorders. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 71, 525 – 547. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1998.tb01007.x
Bailey, K.G. (1997). Evolutionary kinship therapy: Merging integrative psychotherapy with the new kinship psychology. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ASCAP Society, Tucson, AZ.
Bailey, K.G. (2000). Evolution, kinship and psychotherapy: Promoting psychological health through human relationships. In Gilbert, P. & Bailey, K.G. (eds) Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychotherapy. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315783314
Barrett, L., Henzi, P and Dunbar, R. (2003) Primate cognition: from 'what now?' to 'what if?' TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences, 7 (11): 494-497. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2003.09.005
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment: Attachment and Loss, Vol 1. Attachment. London: Hogarth Press.
Bowlby, J (1973). Attachment and Loss, Vol 2. Separation: Anxiety and Anger. Basic Books: New York.
Darwin, C. (1871). The Descent of Man. London: John Murray. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400831296-011
Darwin, C. (1998). The Origin of Species. Ware: Wordsworth Editions Limited.
Dawkins, R. (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford: OUP. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781912281251
Diamond, J. (1992). The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee: How our animal heritage affects the way we live. London: Vintage.
Dunbar, R.I.M. (2003). The social brain: Mind, language and society in evolutionary perspective. Annual Review of Anthropology, 32: 163-81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.32.061002.093158
Dunbar, R (2004). The Human Story: A New History of Mankind's Evolution. London: Faber and Faber.
Evans, D. and Zarate, O. (1999). Introducing Evolutionary Psychology. Cambridge: Icon Books.
Gilbert, P. (1989). Human Nature and Suffering. Hove, UK: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315804736
Gilbert, P. (1998). The evolved basis and adaptive functions of cognitive distortions. British Journal of Medical Psychology,71, 447 – 464. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1998.tb01002.x
Gilbert, P (2000). Social mentalities. In Gilbert, P. & Bailey, K.G. (eds) Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychotherapy. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315783314
Gilbert, P., Bailey, K. G., & McGuire, M. T. (2000). Evolutionary Psychotherapy. In P. Gilbert & K. G. Bailey (Eds.).Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychotherapy. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315783314
Glantz, K. & Pearce, J. K. (1989). Exiles from Eden. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Hamilton, W.D. (1964). The genetic evolution of social behaviour. Parts I, II. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7, 1-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(64)90039-6
Krebs, D.L. & Denton, K. (1997). Social illusions and self-deception: The evolution of biases in person perception. In Simpson, J.A. & Kenrick, D.T. (eds) Evolutionary Social Psychology. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203763681
Liotti, G. (2000). Disorganised attachment, models of borderline states and evolutionary psychotherapy. In Gilbert, P. & Bailey, K.G. (eds) Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychotherapy. London: Routledge.
Lorenz, K. (1983). On Aggression. Routledge: London. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203994269
McGuire & Troisi (1998). Prevalence differences in depression among males and females: Are there evolutionary explanations? British Journal of Medical Psychology, 71, 479 – 492. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1998.tb01004.x
O' Conner, L. (2000). Pathogenic beliefs and guilt in human evolution: Implications for psychotherapy. In Gilbert, P. & Bailey, K.G. (eds) Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychotherapy. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315783314
Plotkin, H. (1994). Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge. London: Penguin.
Plotkin, H. (1997). Evolution in Mind. London: Penguin.
Simpson, J.A. (1999). Attachment theory in modern evolutionary perspective. In Cassidy, J. & Shaver, P.R. (eds) Handbook of Attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications. New York: The Guilford Press.
Smith, D.L. (2004). Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind. St Martin's Press: New York.
Stearns, S. (1976). Life-history tactics: A review of the ideas. Quarterly Review of Biology, 51, 3 – 47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/409052
Stearns, S. (1992). The Evolution of Life Histories. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198577416.001.0001
Stevens, A. (1998). An Intelligent Person's Guide to Psychotherapy. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd.
Stevens, A. (2000). Jungian analysis and evolutionary psychotherapy: An integrative approach. In Gilbert, P. & Bailey, K.G. (eds) Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychotherapy. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394329007.ch4
Stevens, A., & Price, J. (2000). Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New Beginning. (2nd Ed.) London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003209256
Troisi, A., & McGuire, M.T. (2000). Psychotherapy in the context of Darwin psychiatry. In Gilbert, P. & Bailey, K.G. (eds) Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychotherapy. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315783314
Trivers, R.L. (1971). The evolution of reciprocal altruism. Quarterly Review of Biology, 46, 35 – 57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/406755
Trivers, R.L. (1974). Parent-offspring conflict. American Zoologist, 14, 249 – 264. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/14.1.249
Ulfstrand, S. (2002). Savannah Lives: Animal Life and Human Evolution in Africa. Oxford University Press: Oxford. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198509257.001.0001
Wilkinson, G.S. (1988). Reciprocal altruism in bats and other mammals. Ethology and Sociobiology, 9(2 – 4), 85 – 100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(88)90015-5
