What’s normal? : reconciling biology and culture

289 Pages·2016·1.75 MB·English

by  Horwitz

i
WHAT’S NORMAL?

iii
WHAT’S NORMAL?
Reconciling Biology and Culture
Allan V. Horwitz
1
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
© Allan V. Horwitz 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress
ISBN 978–0–19–060324–3 (hbk.); 978– 0– 19– 060325– 0 (pbk.)
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback printed by WebCom, Inc., Canada
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
v
To the memory of Gerry Grob

vii
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments  ix
1. Herodotus and Darwin  1
2. Incest Aversion  24
3. First Names  48
4. Cowardice and Courage  72
5. Obesity  98
6. Fear  123
7. Grief  146
8. Sexual Behavior  168
9. Defects and Differences  194
Notes  215
References  237
Index  259

ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For the past four decades most of my work has focused on issues of mental
health and illness. During this period I observed a steadily increasing trans-
formation of what had been considered problems of living into specific psy-
chiatric diseases that often blurred the lines between normal social stresses
and mental disorders. My book, Creating Mental Illness, critiqued this disease
model that had come to dominate the psychiatric profession. I then collabo-
rated with Jerome Wakefield in focusing on, first, depression in The Loss of
Sadness and, next, on anxiety in All We have to Fear to show the ways that
psychiatry converted normal sadness and natural fears into depressive and
anxiety disorders, respectively. At the same time, I began pursuing the idea
that the complex relationships between normality and abnormality found in
the area of mental illness also applied more broadly to a variety of topics. This
book is the result of my attempt to generalize the various ways that culture
and biology influence what is socially evaluated as normal or abnormal and as
evolutionarily natural or unnatural.
A work of this sort, which crosses so many different lines of inquiry that
are outside of my own areas of expertise, is unusually dependent on the writ-
ings of scholars who specialize in a wide variety of fields. I am especially
indebted to the works of Leda Cosmides, David Kessler, Stanley Lieberson,
William Ian Miller, Andrew Solomon, John Tooby, Jerome Wakefield, and
Arthur Wolf for their many insights on how culture and biology shape the
various topics I examine here.
I am also grateful for the institutional and personal support I received
while writing this work. I began the book in the ideal scholarly environment
of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Science at Stanford
University. I am grateful to Steve Kosslyn and Iris Litt, who served as direc-
tors of the Center during the period of my residence there and to the fel-
lows of the class of 2012- 2013 who provided many invaluable suggestions
for the book. Once again, I am indebted to David Mechanic, the founding