Darwin was clearly a very troubled man and suffered from severe
emotional problems for most of his adult life, especially when he was
in the prime of life. The exact cause of his mental and many physical
problems has been much debated and may never be known for certain.

Was Charles Darwin Psychotic? A Study of His Mental Health

by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D

http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=112

Abstract
Darwin was clearly a very troubled man and suffered from severe
emotional problems for most of his adult life, especially when he was
in the prime of life. The exact cause of his mental and many physical
problems has been much debated and may never be known for certain.

Was Charles Darwin Psychotic? A Study of His Mental Health

by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D

[...]
Anxiety clearly precipitated much of his physical trouble...
[...]

It also helps
to explain the title of Desmond and Moore's 1991 biography of Darwin:
Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist.

Was Charles Darwin Psychotic? A Study of His Mental Health

Was Charles Darwin Psychotic? A Study of His Mental Health

by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D


http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=112

Abstract
Darwin was clearly a very troubled man and suffered from severe
emotional problems for most of his adult life, especially when he was
in the prime of life. The exact cause of his mental and many physical
problems has been much debated and may never be known for certain.


Introduction


Darwin's many lifelong and serious illnesses have been the subject of
much speculation and study for over a century. Darwin stated that his
health problems began as early as 1825 when he was only sixteen years
old, and became incapacitating around age 28 (Barloon and Noyes, 1997,
p. 138). Horan (1979, p. ix) concluded that Darwin was "ill and
reclusively confined to his home in Kent for forty years." Darwinian
scholar Michael Ruse even concluded that "Darwin himself was an invalid
from the age of 30" (2003, p. 1523). And medical doctor George
Pickering, in an extensive study of Darwin's illness, concluded that in
his early thirties, Darwin became an "invalid recluse" (1974, p. 34).
UCLA School of Medicine Professor Dr. Robert Pasnau (1990, p. 123)
noted that Darwin also "remained ill almost continually" for the entire
five years that he was on his HMS Beagle trip.

Dozens of scholarly articles and at least three books have been penned
on the question of Darwin's illness. The current conclusion is that
Darwin suffered from several serious and incapacitating psychiatric
disorders, including agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is characterized by fear
of panic attacks (or actual panic attacks) when not in a
psychologically safe environment, such as at home. Darwin, as is common
among agoraphobiacs, also developed many additional phobias-being in
crowds, being alone, or leaving home unless accompanied by his wife
(Kaplan and Sadock, 1990, pp. 958-959).

Agoraphobia is also frequently associated with depersonalization (a
feeling of being detached from, and outside of, one's own body), a
malady that Darwin also suffered (Barloon and Noyes, 1997, p. 138). A
study of Darwin's mental condition by Barloon and Noyes concluded that
Darwin suffered from anxiety disorders that so severely impaired his
functioning that it limited his ability to leave his home, even just to
meet with colleagues or other friends. This diagnosis likely explains
his very secluded, hermit-like lifestyle (1997, p. 138). It also helps
to explain the title of Desmond and Moore's 1991 biography of Darwin:
Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist.

Other Psychiatric and Medical Problems
Colp (1977, p. 97) concluded that "much of Darwin's daily life was
lived on a rack which consisted of fluctuating degrees of pain" that
was sometimes so severe that Darwin called it "distressingly great."
Darwin's many psychological or psychologically influenced physical
health symptoms included severe depression, insomnia, hysterical
crying, dying sensations, shaking, fainting spells, muscle twitches,
shortness of breath, trembling, nausea, vomiting, severe anxiety,
depersonalization, seeing spots, treading on air and vision, and other
visual hallucinations (Barloon and Noyes, 1997, p. 139; Picover, 1998,
p. 290; Colp, 1977, p. 97; Bean, 1978, p. 573). The physical symptoms
included headaches, cardiac palpitations, ringing in ears (possibly
tinnitus), painful flatulence, and gastric upsets-all of which
commonly have a psychological origin (Pasnau, 1990). Colp noted that
"behind these symptoms there was always a core of anxiety and
depression" (1977, p. 97). Some speculate that part of Darwin's mental
problems were due to his nagging, gnawing fear that he had devoted his
"life to a fantasy"-and a "dangerous one" at that (Desmond and Moore,
1991, p. 477). This fear was that his theory was false and there was,
in fact, a divine Creator.

Darwin's behavior also indicates that he suffered from a mental
disorder. Although devoted to his wife and daughters, he "treated them
as children" even after his daughters were fully grown (Picover, 1998,
p. 289). Some of Darwin's statements to others also cast doubt on his
mental stability. For example, in 1875 he wrote the following words to
fellow scientist Robert Hooker:

You ask about my book, & all that I can say is that I am ready to
commit suicide: I thought it was decently written, but find so much
wants rewriting. . . . I begin to think that every one who publishes a
book is a fool (quoted in Colp, 1977, p. 228).
Colp noted that Darwin's son Leonard claimed that his father's illness
even interfered with his feelings for his children. For example,
Leonard once noted that

As a young lad I went up to my father when strolling about the lawn,
and he . . . turned away as if quite incapable of carrying on any
conversation. Then there suddenly shot through my mind the conviction
that he wished he was no longer alive (quoted in Colp, 1977, p. 100).
Darwin's mental problems were considered so severe that Picover (1998,
p. 289) included Darwin in his collection of historical persons that he
calls "strange brains . . . eccentric scientists, and madmen." That
Darwin suffered from several severely disabling maladies is not
debated; the only debate is what caused them (Pasnau, 1990, p. 121).

Other Possible Causes of Darwin's Condition
Others, including Darwin's own wife, argued that his mental problem
stemmed from guilt over his life's goal to refute the argument for God
from design (Bean, 1978,
p. 574; p. 28; Pasnau, 1990, p. 126). Most of the psychoanalytic
studies have argued that his problems were a result of his repressed
anger toward his tyrannical father and "the slaying of his heavenly
father" by his theory (Pasnau, 1990, p. 122).

Diagnosis of the cause of Darwin's mental and physical disorders
include parasitic disease (Chaga's disease-caused by an insect common
in South America), arsenic poisoning, and possibly even an inner ear
disorder (Picover, 1998, p. 290; Pasnau, 1990). All of these causes
have largely been refuted. Many persons conclude he had a classic,
essential mental disturbance bordering on psychosis (a severe,
incapacitating mental disorder). Regardless of the diagnosis, Darwin's
condition was clearly incapacitating, often for months at a time, and
rendered him an invalid for much of his life, especially in the prime
of his life.

Arnold Sorsby concluded that Darwin was also an obsessive-compulsive
and gives the following evidence:

If Chagas's disease did not cause Darwin's symptoms what did? My
personal diagnosis would be an anxiety state with obsessive features
and psychosomatic manifestations. Anxiety clearly precipitated much of
his physical trouble, and regarding the obsessive component there are
several important points. . . .
Darwin exhibited the obsessional's trait of having everything "just
so"; he kept meticulous records of his health and symptoms like many
obsessional hypochondriacs. Everything had to be in its place; he even
had a special drawer for the sponge which he used in bathing . . . Then
there is the health diary he kept. Days and nights were given a score
according to how good they were; the score was added up at the end of
each week, and there is evidence of frequent changing of mind in
deciding whether a night was very good or just good (1974, p. 228).

Darwin's Own Words about His Condition
In addition to the diary on his health problems and complaints (Colp,
1977, p. 136), he frequently discussed his health problems in his
letters and his autobiography. Darwin's own description of his
condition included the following: "I am forced to live, . . . very
quietly and am able to see scarcely anybody and cannot even talk long
with my nearest relations" (quoted in Bowlby, 1990, p. 240). Darwin
once complained that speaking for only "a few minutes" to the Linnean
Society "brought on 24 hours vomiting" (Darwin, 1994, pp. 98-99). At
another time, Darwin had a "house full of guests" and after he visited
the parish church for a christening, he was "back to square one" and
his good health "had vanished `like a flash of lightning'" and sickness
(including the vomiting) returned (Desmond and Moore, 1991, p. 456).
The suddenness of his illness, as illustrated by these incidents,
indicates that his incapacitating episodes were psychological in
origin.

Another side of Darwin revealed his sadistic impulses. His own words
taken from his autobiography give a vivid example:

In the latter part of my school life I became passionately fond of
shooting, and I do not believe that anyone could have shown more zeal
for the most holy cause than I did for shooting birds. How well I
remember killing my first snipe, and my excitement was so great that I
had much difficulty in reloading my gun from the trembling of my hands.
This taste long continued and I became a very good shot (1958, p. 44).

The fact that he loved killing so much that killing his first bird
caused him to tremble with excitement could certainly indicate a
sadistic streak in Darwin. His passion for killing birds is well known.
One wonders if this "passion" for killing may have, in part, motivated
his ruthless "survival of the fittest" tooth and claw theory of natural
selection.

Conclusions
Darwin was clearly a very troubled man and suffered from severe
emotional problems for most of his adult life, especially when he was
in the prime of life. The exact cause of his mental and many physical
problems has been much debated and may never be known for certain.
Since Darwin wrote extensively about his mental and physical problems,
we have much material on which to base a reasonable conclusion about
this area of his life. The diagnosis of the cause of his mental and
physical problems includes a variety of debilitating conditions, but
agoraphobia with the addition of psychoneurosis is most probably
correct.

Unfortunately, most writers have shied away from this topic, partly
because Darwin is now idolized by many scientists and others. Often
listed as one of the greatest scientists of the nineteenth century, if
not the greatest scientist that ever lived, Darwin is one of the few
scientists known to most Americans. To understand Darwin as a person
and his motivations, one must consider his mental condition and how it
affected his work and conclusions.

References
Barloon, Thomas and Russell Noyes, Jr. 1997. "Charles Darwin and Panic
Disorder." JAMA 277(2):138-141.

Barlow, Nora, ed. 1958. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882.
NY: Norton.

Bean, W. B. 1978. "The Illness of Charles Darwin." The American Journal
of Medicine 65(4):572-574.

Bowlby, John. 1990. Charles Darwin: A New Life. NY: Norton.

Colp, Ralph Jr. 1977. To Be an Invalid: The Illness of Charles Darwin.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.

Darwin, Charles. 1994. The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University. Vol. 9.

Desmond, Adrian and James Moore. 1991. Darwin: The Life of a Tormented
Evolutionist. NY: Warner Books.

Grigg, Russell. 1995. "Darwin's Mystery Illness." Creation Ex Nihilo
17(4):28-30.

Horan, Patricia G. 1979. Foreword to The Origin of Species. NY:
Gramercy Books.

Kaplan, Harold I. and Benjamin J. Sadock, ed. 1990. Comprehensive
Textbook of Psychiatry/V. Volume 1 Fifth Edition. NY: Williams and
Wilkins.

Pasnau, R. O. 1990. "Darwin's Illness: A Biopsychosocial Perspective."
Psychosomatics 31(2):121-128.

Pickering, George. 1974. Creative Malady. NY: Oxford University Press.

Picover, Clifford A. 1998. Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives
of Eccentric Scientists and Madmen. NY: Quill William Morrow.

Ruse, Michael. 2003. "Is Evolution a Secular Religion?" Science
299:1523-1524.

Sorsby, Arnold, ed. 1974. Tenements of Clay. NY: Charles Scribner's
Sons.


*Dr. Bergman is on the Biology faculty at Northwest State College in
Ohio.




http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=112

Was Charles Darwin Psychotic? A Study of His Mental Health

by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D


http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=112

Abstract
Darwin was clearly a very troubled man and suffered from severe
emotional problems for most of his adult life, especially when he was
in the prime of life. The exact cause of his mental and many physical
problems has been much debated and may never be known for certain.


Introduction


Darwin's many lifelong and serious illnesses have been the subject of
much speculation and study for over a century. Darwin stated that his
health problems began as early as 1825 when he was only sixteen years
old, and became incapacitating around age 28 (Barloon and Noyes, 1997,
p. 138). Horan (1979, p. ix) concluded that Darwin was "ill and
reclusively confined to his home in Kent for forty years." Darwinian
scholar Michael Ruse even concluded that "Darwin himself was an invalid
from the age of 30" (2003, p. 1523). And medical doctor George
Pickering, in an extensive study of Darwin's illness, concluded that in
his early thirties, Darwin became an "invalid recluse" (1974, p. 34).
UCLA School of Medicine Professor Dr. Robert Pasnau (1990, p. 123)
noted that Darwin also "remained ill almost continually" for the entire
five years that he was on his HMS Beagle trip.

Dozens of scholarly articles and at least three books have been penned
on the question of Darwin's illness. The current conclusion is that
Darwin suffered from several serious and incapacitating psychiatric
disorders, including agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is characterized by fear
of panic attacks (or actual panic attacks) when not in a
psychologically safe environment, such as at home. Darwin, as is common
among agoraphobiacs, also developed many additional phobias-being in
crowds, being alone, or leaving home unless accompanied by his wife
(Kaplan and Sadock, 1990, pp. 958-959).

Agoraphobia is also frequently associated with depersonalization (a
feeling of being detached from, and outside of, one's own body), a
malady that Darwin also suffered (Barloon and Noyes, 1997, p. 138). A
study of Darwin's mental condition by Barloon and Noyes concluded that
Darwin suffered from anxiety disorders that so severely impaired his
functioning that it limited his ability to leave his home, even just to
meet with colleagues or other friends. This diagnosis likely explains
his very secluded, hermit-like lifestyle (1997, p. 138). It also helps
to explain the title of Desmond and Moore's 1991 biography of Darwin:
Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist.

Other Psychiatric and Medical Problems
Colp (1977, p. 97) concluded that "much of Darwin's daily life was
lived on a rack which consisted of fluctuating degrees of pain" that
was sometimes so severe that Darwin called it "distressingly great."
Darwin's many psychological or psychologically influenced physical
health symptoms included severe depression, insomnia, hysterical
crying, dying sensations, shaking, fainting spells, muscle twitches,
shortness of breath, trembling, nausea, vomiting, severe anxiety,
depersonalization, seeing spots, treading on air and vision, and other
visual hallucinations (Barloon and Noyes, 1997, p. 139; Picover, 1998,
p. 290; Colp, 1977, p. 97; Bean, 1978, p. 573). The physical symptoms
included headaches, cardiac palpitations, ringing in ears (possibly
tinnitus), painful flatulence, and gastric upsets-all of which
commonly have a psychological origin (Pasnau, 1990). Colp noted that
"behind these symptoms there was always a core of anxiety and
depression" (1977, p. 97). Some speculate that part of Darwin's mental
problems were due to his nagging, gnawing fear that he had devoted his
"life to a fantasy"-and a "dangerous one" at that (Desmond and Moore,
1991, p. 477). This fear was that his theory was false and there was,
in fact, a divine Creator.

Darwin's behavior also indicates that he suffered from a mental
disorder. Although devoted to his wife and daughters, he "treated them
as children" even after his daughters were fully grown (Picover, 1998,
p. 289). Some of Darwin's statements to others also cast doubt on his
mental stability. For example, in 1875 he wrote the following words to
fellow scientist Robert Hooker:

You ask about my book, & all that I can say is that I am ready to
commit suicide: I thought it was decently written, but find so much
wants rewriting. . . . I begin to think that every one who publishes a
book is a fool (quoted in Colp, 1977, p. 228).
Colp noted that Darwin's son Leonard claimed that his father's illness
even interfered with his feelings for his children. For example,
Leonard once noted that

As a young lad I went up to my father when strolling about the lawn,
and he . . . turned away as if quite incapable of carrying on any
conversation. Then there suddenly shot through my mind the conviction
that he wished he was no longer alive (quoted in Colp, 1977, p. 100).
Darwin's mental problems were considered so severe that Picover (1998,
p. 289) included Darwin in his collection of historical persons that he
calls "strange brains . . . eccentric scientists, and madmen." That
Darwin suffered from several severely disabling maladies is not
debated; the only debate is what caused them (Pasnau, 1990, p. 121).

Other Possible Causes of Darwin's Condition
Others, including Darwin's own wife, argued that his mental problem
stemmed from guilt over his life's goal to refute the argument for God
from design (Bean, 1978,
p. 574; p. 28; Pasnau, 1990, p. 126). Most of the psychoanalytic
studies have argued that his problems were a result of his repressed
anger toward his tyrannical father and "the slaying of his heavenly
father" by his theory (Pasnau, 1990, p. 122).

Diagnosis of the cause of Darwin's mental and physical disorders
include parasitic disease (Chaga's disease-caused by an insect common
in South America), arsenic poisoning, and possibly even an inner ear
disorder (Picover, 1998, p. 290; Pasnau, 1990). All of these causes
have largely been refuted. Many persons conclude he had a classic,
essential mental disturbance bordering on psychosis (a severe,
incapacitating mental disorder). Regardless of the diagnosis, Darwin's
condition was clearly incapacitating, often for months at a time, and
rendered him an invalid for much of his life, especially in the prime
of his life.

Arnold Sorsby concluded that Darwin was also an obsessive-compulsive
and gives the following evidence:

If Chagas's disease did not cause Darwin's symptoms what did? My
personal diagnosis would be an anxiety state with obsessive features
and psychosomatic manifestations. Anxiety clearly precipitated much of
his physical trouble, and regarding the obsessive component there are
several important points. . . .
Darwin exhibited the obsessional's trait of having everything "just
so"; he kept meticulous records of his health and symptoms like many
obsessional hypochondriacs. Everything had to be in its place; he even
had a special drawer for the sponge which he used in bathing . . . Then
there is the health diary he kept. Days and nights were given a score
according to how good they were; the score was added up at the end of
each week, and there is evidence of frequent changing of mind in
deciding whether a night was very good or just good (1974, p. 228).

Darwin's Own Words about His Condition
In addition to the diary on his health problems and complaints (Colp,
1977, p. 136), he frequently discussed his health problems in his
letters and his autobiography. Darwin's own description of his
condition included the following: "I am forced to live, . . . very
quietly and am able to see scarcely anybody and cannot even talk long
with my nearest relations" (quoted in Bowlby, 1990, p. 240). Darwin
once complained that speaking for only "a few minutes" to the Linnean
Society "brought on 24 hours vomiting" (Darwin, 1994, pp. 98-99). At
another time, Darwin had a "house full of guests" and after he visited
the parish church for a christening, he was "back to square one" and
his good health "had vanished `like a flash of lightning'" and sickness
(including the vomiting) returned (Desmond and Moore, 1991, p. 456).
The suddenness of his illness, as illustrated by these incidents,
indicates that his incapacitating episodes were psychological in
origin.

Another side of Darwin revealed his sadistic impulses. His own words
taken from his autobiography give a vivid example:

In the latter part of my school life I became passionately fond of
shooting, and I do not believe that anyone could have shown more zeal
for the most holy cause than I did for shooting birds. How well I
remember killing my first snipe, and my excitement was so great that I
had much difficulty in reloading my gun from the trembling of my hands.
This taste long continued and I became a very good shot (1958, p. 44).

The fact that he loved killing so much that killing his first bird
caused him to tremble with excitement could certainly indicate a
sadistic streak in Darwin. His passion for killing birds is well known.
One wonders if this "passion" for killing may have, in part, motivated
his ruthless "survival of the fittest" tooth and claw theory of natural
selection.

Conclusions
Darwin was clearly a very troubled man and suffered from severe
emotional problems for most of his adult life, especially when he was
in the prime of life. The exact cause of his mental and many physical
problems has been much debated and may never be known for certain.
Since Darwin wrote extensively about his mental and physical problems,
we have much material on which to base a reasonable conclusion about
this area of his life. The diagnosis of the cause of his mental and
physical problems includes a variety of debilitating conditions, but
agoraphobia with the addition of psychoneurosis is most probably
correct.

Unfortunately, most writers have shied away from this topic, partly
because Darwin is now idolized by many scientists and others. Often
listed as one of the greatest scientists of the nineteenth century, if
not the greatest scientist that ever lived, Darwin is one of the few
scientists known to most Americans. To understand Darwin as a person
and his motivations, one must consider his mental condition and how it
affected his work and conclusions.

References
Barloon, Thomas and Russell Noyes, Jr. 1997. "Charles Darwin and Panic
Disorder." JAMA 277(2):138-141.

Barlow, Nora, ed. 1958. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882.
NY: Norton.

Bean, W. B. 1978. "The Illness of Charles Darwin." The American Journal
of Medicine 65(4):572-574.

Bowlby, John. 1990. Charles Darwin: A New Life. NY: Norton.

Colp, Ralph Jr. 1977. To Be an Invalid: The Illness of Charles Darwin.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.

Darwin, Charles. 1994. The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University. Vol. 9.

Desmond, Adrian and James Moore. 1991. Darwin: The Life of a Tormented
Evolutionist. NY: Warner Books.

Grigg, Russell. 1995. "Darwin's Mystery Illness." Creation Ex Nihilo
17(4):28-30.

Horan, Patricia G. 1979. Foreword to The Origin of Species. NY:
Gramercy Books.

Kaplan, Harold I. and Benjamin J. Sadock, ed. 1990. Comprehensive
Textbook of Psychiatry/V. Volume 1 Fifth Edition. NY: Williams and
Wilkins.

Pasnau, R. O. 1990. "Darwin's Illness: A Biopsychosocial Perspective."
Psychosomatics 31(2):121-128.

Pickering, George. 1974. Creative Malady. NY: Oxford University Press.

Picover, Clifford A. 1998. Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives
of Eccentric Scientists and Madmen. NY: Quill William Morrow.

Ruse, Michael. 2003. "Is Evolution a Secular Religion?" Science
299:1523-1524.

Sorsby, Arnold, ed. 1974. Tenements of Clay. NY: Charles Scribner's
Sons.


*Dr. Bergman is on the Biology faculty at Northwest State College in
Ohio.




http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=112