Does Depression Have an Evolutionary Purpose? (2017)
Tangential, but this psychologist argues that depression evolved as a behavioral shutdown mechanism to prevent humans from over-investing in tactics or behaviors that did not yield any benefit (from a dopaminergic standpoint) -- <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.psychologytoday.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;theory-knowledge&#x2F;201604&#x2F;the-behavioral-shutdown-theory-depression" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.psychologytoday.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;theory-knowledge&#x2F;201604...</a>. The reasoning is that we conserve energy by not pursuing &quot;dead-ends&quot;. Naturally, this evolutionary mechanism is thrown for a loop in an existence where survival is assured, and meaning becomes the main spectre psychologically.