apropos Carol Cox's remarks on the mentally ill, the whole question of diagnosis is suspect -- the only thing that the DSM (the document created to "standardize" mental illnesses so that therapists can get paid) proves is that, following its guidelines, everyone is treatable. consider the following, which serendipitously appeared simultaneously with Carol's post. Subj: [evol-psych] Suspicious minds Date: 06/02/2000 7:59:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time From: [log in to unmask] (Ian Pitchford) Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Ian.Pitchford@scienti st.com</A> (Ian Pitchford) To: [log in to unmask] From last week's Times Higher Education Supplement http://www.thesis.co.uk/ Draxler, A. (2000). Suspicious minds [letter]. Times Higher Education Supplement, May 27, p. 17. Psychologist David Buss says "individuals diagnosed as 'pathologically jealous' often turn out to have partners who have strayed in the past, are straying or are contemplating straying" ("I love you to death", THES, April 20). That is a shocking way of justifying pathological behaviour. Any sample of the population would reveal a high percentage of partners who have strayed, are straying or are contemplating straying. If you restrict your survey to those suffering severe stress in the partnership, clearly one would come up with a majority who are or have been in straying mode. While pathology is, of course, a severe and deformed manifestation of a condition that in its standard form is rational, his statement seems to justify pathology, and that will no do. He must know all the damage that can be caused by extreme jealousy and should be more careful in describing its causes. Alexandra Draxler Paris, France. http://www.thesis.co.uk/