Foundation for Evolution and Mental Health
Forwarding the understanding of mental health and disorder through the lens of evolutionary theory
“In the distant future I see open fields for far more important researches.
Psychology will be based on a new foundation, that of the necessary acquirement of each mental power and capacity by gradation”
Charles Darwin (1859 p. 488). The Origin of Species.
Why do so many of us show these cognitive differences, experience these emotional states – why did we not evolve to be perfectly mentally healthy?
This is not our natural environment
This is our natural environment
The inherited tendencies to develop mental disorders are common enough to have existed in every ancestral tribe.
They arise in the peak of youth.
Often they associate with particular aptitudes.
These are not the signs of simple disease.
Decades of effort and billions of dollars have been spent on biomedical research, with no real progress.
Pathology has not been found, and people have not been helped.
Thomas Insel oversaw 20 billion dollars of funding between 2002-2015.
“Whatever we’ve been doing for five decades, it ain’t working … with no validated biomarkers and too little in the way of novel medical treatments since 1980... it is time to rethink mental disorders”
Approximately 4 billion dollars every year is spent on mental health research.
Approximately zero of that goes towards evolution-informed research.
It’s time for a new approach, with an old theory.
Your support has the potential to catalyse a paradigm shift in how we understand and address mental health challenges globally.
Larger philanthropic goals?
As a founding patron of the field, you could play a pivotal role, felt for generations. If you’d like to start a discussion about how to create large and lasting impact, contact us at evolutionandmentalhealth[at]gmail.com.