A	>>	B	>>	C	>>	D	>>	E
F	>>	G	>>	H	>>	I	>>	J
K	>>	L	>>	M	>>	N	>>	O
P	>>	R	>>	S	>>	T	>>	U
V	>>	W	>>			X	>>	Z

George MacDonald - "Phantastes, A Faerie Romance for Men and Women"

Edward Fitzgerald - "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, rendered into English verse"

Julian Hawthorne - "The Project Gutenberg Etext of Stories by Modern American Authors"

Victor MacClure - "She Stands Accused"

The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals

C >> Charles Darwin >> The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals



Scanned by Charles Keller with OmniPage Professional OCR software
NOTE: The quality of this etext is below my usual standards!!





THE EXPRESSION OF THE
EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS

BY
CHARLES DARWIN
M.A., F.R.S., ETC.

_WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS_

NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
1899



Authorized Edition.

CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION......................................................Pages 1-26

CHAP. I--GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION. The three chief
principles stated--The first principle--Serviceable actions
become habitual in association with certain states of the mind,
and are performed whether or not of service in each particular case--
The force of habit--Inheritance--Associated habitual movements
in man--Reflex actions--Passage of habits into reflex actions--
Associated habitual movements in the lower animals--
Concluding remarks ............27-49

CHAP. II--GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION--_continued_. The Principle
of Antithesis--Instances in the dog and cat--Origin of the principle--
Conventional signs--The principle of antithesis has not arisen from opposite
actions being consciously performed under opposite impulses ..........50-65

CHAP. III--GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION--_concluded_.

The principle of the direct action of the excited nervous system on the body,
independently of the will and in part of habit--Change of colour in the hair--
Trembling of the muscles--Modified secretions--Perspiration--Expression of
extreme pain--Of rage, great joy, and terror--Contrast between the emotions
which cause and do not cause expressive movements--Exciting and depressing
states of the mind--Summary............................................ 66-82

CHAP. IV--MEANS OF EXPRESSION. IN ANIMALS. The emission of sounds--
Vocal sounds--Sounds otherwise produced--Erection of the dermal appendages,
hairs, feathers, &c., under the emotions of anger and terror--The drawing back
of the ears as a preparation for fighting, and as an expression of anger--
Erection of the ears and raising the head, a sign of attention 88-114

CHAP. V.--SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF ANIMALS. The Dog, various expressive
movements of--Cats--Horses--Ruminants--Monkeys, their expression of joy
and affection--Of pain--Anger Astonishment and Terror Pages 115-145

CHAP. VI.--SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF MAN: SUFFERING AND WEEPING. The screaming
and weeping of infants--Form of features--Age at which weeping commences--
The effects of habitual restraint on weeping--Sobbing--Cause of
the contraction of the muscles round the eyes during screaming--
Cause of the secretion of tears 146-175

CHAP. VII.--LOW SPIRITS, ANXIETY, GRIEF, DEJECTION, DESPAIR. General effect
of grief on the system--Obliquity of the eyebrows under suffering--
On the cause of the obliquity of the eyebrows--On the depression
of the corners of the mouth 176-195

CHAP. VIII.--JOY, HIGH SPIRITS, LOVE, TENDER FEELINGS, DEVOTION.
Laughter primarily the expression of joy--Ludicrous ideas--
Movements of the features during laughter--Nature of the sound produced--
The secretion of tears during loud laughter--Gradation from loud
laughter to gentle smiling--High spirits--The expression of love--
Tender feelings--Devotion 196-219

CHAP. IX.--REFLECTION--MEDITATION--ILL--TEMPER--SULKINESS DETERMINATION.
The act of frowning--Reflection with an effort or with the perception
of something difficult or disagreeable--Abstracted meditation--
Ill-temper--Moroseness--Obstinacy--Sulkiness and pouting--
Decision or determination--The firm closure of the mouth 220-236

CHAP. X.-HATRED AND ANGER.

Hatred--Rage, effects of on the system--Uncovering of the teeth--
Rage in the insane--Anger and indignation--As expressed by the various
races of man--Sneering and defiance--The uncovering of the canine
teeth on one side of the face 237-252

CHAP. XI.--DISDAIN--CONTEMPT--DISGUST--GUILT--PRIDE, ETC.--HELPLESSNESS--
PATIENCE--AFFIRMATION AND NEGATION. Contempt, scorn and disdain,
variously expressed--Derisive Smile--Gestures expressive of contempt--
Disgust--Guilt, deceit, pride, etc.--Helplessness or impotence--
Patience--Obstinacy--Shrugging the shoulders common to most of the races
of man--Signs of affirmation and negation 253-277

CHAP. XII.--SURPRISE--ASTONISHMENT--FEAR--HORROR.

Surprise, astonishment--Elevation of the eyebrows--Opening the mouth--
Protrusion of the lips--Gestures accompanying surprise--
Admiration Fear--Terror--Erection of the hair--Contraction of the
platysma muscle--Dilatation of the pupils--horror--Conclusion. Pages 278-308

CHAP. XIII.--SELF-ATTENTION--SHAME--SHYNESS--MODESTY: BLUSHING.

Nature of a blush--Inheritance--The parts of the body most affected--
Blushing in the various races of man--Accompanying gestures--
Confusion of mind--Causes of blushing--Self-attention, the
fundamental element--Shyness--Shame, from broken moral laws and
conventional rules--Modesty--Theory of blushing--Recapitulation 309-346

CHAP. XIV.--CONCLUDING REMARKS AND SUMMARY.

The three leading principles which have determined the chief movements
of expression--Their inheritance--On the part which the will and
intention have played in the acquirement of various expressions--
The instinctive recognition of expression--The bearing of our
subject on the specific unity of the races of man--On the successive
acquirement of various expressions by the progenitors of man--
The importance of expression--Conclusion 347-366

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIG. PAGE
1. Diagram of the muscles of the face, from Sir C. Bell 24
2. " " " Henle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3. " " " " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4 Small dog watching a cat on a table 43
5 Dog approaching another dog with hostile intentions 52
6. Dog in a humble and affectionate frame of mind 53
7. Half-bred Shepherd Dog 54
8. Dog caressing his master 55
9. Cat, savage, and prepared to fight 58
10. Cat in an affectionate frame of mind 59
11. Sound-producing quills from the tail of the Porcupine 93
12. Hen driving away a dog from her chickens......98
13. Swan driving away an intruder.................99
14. Head of snarling dog.........................117
15. Cat terrified at a dog.......................125
16. Cynopithecus niger, in a placid condition....135
17. The same, when pleased by being caressed.....135
18. Chimpanzee disappointed and sulky............139
19. Photograph of an insane woman................296
20. Terror.......................................299
21. Horror and Agony.............................306

Plate I. to face page 147 Plate V. to face page 254.
" II. " 178. " VI. " 264.
" III. " 200. " VII. " 300.
" IV. " 248.

_N. B_.--Several of the figures in these seven Heliotype Plates have been
reproduced from photographs, instead of from the original negatives;
and they are in consequence somewhat indistinct. Nevertheless they are
faithful copies, and are much superior for my purpose to any drawing,
however carefully executed.



ON THE EXPRESSION OF THE EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS.

INTRODUCTION.

MANY works have been written on Expression, but a greater number
on Physiognomy,--that is, on the recognition of character through
the study of the permanent form of the features. With this
latter subject I am not here concerned. The older treatises,[1]
which I have consulted, have been of little or no service to me.
The famous `Conferences'[2] of the painter Le Brun, published in 1667,
is the best known ancient work, and contains some good remarks.
Another somewhat old essay, namely, the `Discours,' delivered
1774-1782, by the well-known Dutch anatomist Camper,[3] can hardly
be considered as having made any marked advance in the subject.
The following works, on the contrary, deserve the fullest consideration.

Sir Charles Bell, so illustrious for his discoveries in physiology,
published in 1806 the first edition, and in

[1] J. Parsons, in his paper in the Appendix to the
`Philosophical Transactions' for 1746, p. 41, gives a list
of forty-one old authors who have written on Expression.

[2] Conferences sur l'expression des differents Caracteres
des Passions.' Paris, 4to, 1667. I always quote from the
republication of the `Conferences' in the edition of Lavater,
by Moreau, which appeared in 1820, as given in vol. ix. p. 257.

[3] `Discours par Pierre Camper sur le moyen de representer les
diverses passions,' &c. 1792. 1844 the third edition of his
`Anatomy and Philosophy of Expression.'[4] He may with justice
be said, not only to have laid the foundations of the subject
as a branch of science, but to have built up a noble structure.
His work is in every way deeply interesting; it includes graphic
descriptions of the various emotions, and is admirably illustrated.
It is generally admitted that his service consists chiefly
in having shown the intimate relation which exists between
the movements of expression and those of respiration.
One of the most important points, small as it may at first appear,
is that the muscles round the eyes are involuntarily contracted
during violent expiratory efforts, in order to protect
these delicate organs from the pressure of the blood.
This fact, which has been fully investigated for me with
the greatest kindness by Professors Donders of Utrecht,
throws, as we shall hereafter see, a flood of light on several
of the most important expressions of the human countenance.
The merits of Sir C. Bell's work have been undervalued or quite
ignored by several foreign writers, but have been fully admitted
by some, for instance by M. Lemoine,[5] who with great justice
says:--"Le livre de Ch. Bell devrait etre medite par quiconque
essaye de faire parler le visage de l'homme, par les philosophes
aussi bien que par les artistes, car, sous une apparence plus
legere et sous le pretexte de l'esthetique, c'est un des
plus beaux monuments de la science des rapports du physique
et du moral."



[4] I always quote from the third edition, 1844, which was published
after the death of Sir C. Bell, and contains his latest corrections.
The first edition of 1806 is much inferior in merit, and does not include
some of his more important views.

[5] `De la Physionomie et de la Parole,' par Albert Lemoine, 1865, p. 101.

From reasons which will presently be assigned, Sir C. Bell did not
attempt to follow out his views as far as they might have been carried.
He does not try to explain why different muscles are brought into
action under different emotions; why, for instance, the inner ends
of the eyebrows are raised, and the corners of the mouth depressed,
by a person suffering from grief or anxiety.

In 1807 M. Moreau edited an edition of Lavater on Physiognomy,[6] in which
he incorporated several of his own essays, containing excellent descriptions
of the movements of the facial muscles, together with many valuable remarks.
He throws, however, very little light on the philosophy of the subject.
For instance, M. Moreau, in speaking of the act of frowning, that is,
of the contraction of the muscle called by French writers the _soucilier_
(_corrigator supercilii_), remarks with truth:--"Cette action des
sourciliers est un des symptomes les plus tranches de l'expression des
affections penibles ou concentrees." He then adds that these muscles,
from their attachment and position, are fitted "a resserrer,
a concentrer les principaux traits de la _face_, comme il convient
dans toutes ces passions vraiment oppressives ou profondes, dans ces
affections dont le sentiment semble porter l'organisation a revenir sur
elle-meme, a se contracter et a _s'amoindrir_, comme pour offrir moins
de prise et de surface a des impressions redoutables ou importunes."
He who thinks that remarks of this kind throw any light on the meaning
or origin of the different expressions, takes a very different view
of the subject to what I do.


[6] `L'Art de connaitre les Hommes,' &c., par G. Lavater. The earliest
edition of this work, referred to in the preface to the edition of 1820
in ten volumes, as containing the observations of M. Moreau, is said
to have been published in 1807; and I have no doubt that this is correct,
because the `Notice sur Lavater' at the commencement of volume i.
is dated April 13, 1806. In some bibliographical works, however, the date
of 1805--1809 is given, but it seems impossible that 1805 can be correct.
Dr. Duchenne remarks (`Mecanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,'-8vo edit.
1862, p. 5, and `Archives Generales de Medecine,' Jan. et Fev.
1862) that M. Moreau "_a compose pour son ouvrage un article important_,"
&c., in the year 1805; and I find in volume i. of the edition
of 1820 passages bearing the dates of December 12, 1805, and another
January 5, 1806, besides that of April 13, 1806, above referred to.
In consequence of some of these passages having thus been COMPOSED in 1805,
Dr. Duchenne assigns to M. Moreau the priority over Sir C. Bell,
whose work, as we have seen, was published in 1806. This is a very
unusual manner of determining the priority of scientific works;
but such questions are of extremely little importance in comparison
with their relative merits. The passages above quoted from M. Moreau
and from Le Brun are taken in this and all other cases from the edition
of 1820 of Lavater, tom. iv. p. 228, and tom. ix. p. 279. " In
the above passage there is but a slight, if any, advance in the philosophy
of the subject, beyond that reached by the painter Le Brun, who, in 1667,
in describing the expression of fright, says:--"Le sourcil qui est abaisse
d'un cote et eleve de l'autre, fait voir que la partie elevee semble le
vouloir joindre au cerveau pour le garantir du mal que l'ame apercoit,
et le cote qui est abaisse et qui parait enfle, -nous fait trouver
dans cet etat par les esprits qui viennent du cerveau en abondance,
comme polir couvrir l'aine et la defendre du mal qu'elle craint;
la bouche fort ouverte fait voir le saisissement du coeur, par le sang
qui se retire vers lui, ce qui l'oblige, voulant respirer, a faire
un effort qui est cause que la bouche s'ouvre extremement, et qui,
lorsqu'il passe par les organes de la voix, forme un son qui n'est
point articule; que si les muscles et les veines paraissent enfles,
ce n'est que par les esprits que le cerveau envoie en ces parties-la."
I have thought the foregoing sentences worth quoting, as specimens
of the surprising nonsense which has been written on the subject.

`The Physiology or Mechanism of Blushing,' by Dr. Burgess, appeared in 1839,
and to this work I shall frequently refer in my thirteenth Chapter.

In 1862 Dr. Duchenne published two editions, in folio and octavo,
of his `Mecanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,' in which he analyses
by means of electricity, and illustrates by magnificent photographs,
the movements of the facial muscles. He has generously permitted me
to copy as many of his photographs as I desired. His works have been
spoken lightly of, or quite passed over, by some of his countrymen.
It is possible that Dr. Duchenne may have exaggerated the importance
of the contraction of single muscles in giving expression;
for, owing to the intimate manner in which the muscles are connected,
as may be seen in Henle's anatomical drawings[7]--the best I believe
ever published it is difficult to believe in their separate action.
Nevertheless, it is manifest that Dr. Duchenne clearly apprehended
this and other sources of error, and as it is known that he was
eminently successful in elucidating the physiology of the muscles
of the hand by the aid of electricity, it is probable that he is
generally in the right about the muscles of the face. In my opinion,
Dr. Duchenne has greatly advanced the subject by his treatment of it.
No one has more carefully studied the contraction of each separate muscle,
and the consequent furrows produced on the skin. He has also,
and this is a very important service, shown which muscles are least
under the separate control of the will. He enters very little into
theoretical considerations, and seldom attempts to explain why certain
muscles and not others contract under the influence of certain emotions.
A distinguished French anatomist, Pierre Gratiolet, gave a course
of lectures on Expression at the Sorbonne, and his notes were published
(1865) after his death, under the title of `De la Physionomie et des
Mouvements d'Expression.' This is a very interesting work, full of
valuable observations. His theory is rather complex, and, as far as it
can be given in a single sentence (p. 65), is as follows:--"Il resulte,
de tous les faits que j'ai rappeles, que les sens, l'imagination et la
pensee ellememe, si elevee, si abstraite qu'on la suppose, ne peuvent
s'exercer sans eveiller un sentiment correlatif, et que ce sentiment se
traduit directement, sympathiquement, symboliquement ou metaphoriquement,
dans toutes les spheres des organs exterieurs, qui la racontent tous,
suivant leur mode d'action propre, comme si chacun d'eux avait
ete directement affecte."

[7] `Handbuch der Systematischen Anatomie des Menschen.'
Band I. Dritte Abtheilung, 1858.

Gratiolet appears to overlook inherited habit, and even to some
extent habit in the individual; and therefore he fails, as it seems
to me, to give the right explanation, or any explanation at all,
of many gestures and expressions. As an illustration of what he calls
symbolic movements, I will quote his remarks (p. 37), taken from
M. Chevreul, on a man playing at billiards. "Si une bille devie
legerement de la direction que le joueur pretend zlui imprimer,
ne l'avez-vous pas vu cent fois la pousser du regard, de la tete et
meme des epaules, comme si ces mouvements, purement symboliques,
pouvaient rectifier son trajet? Des mouvements non moins significatifs
se produisent quand la bille manque d'une impulsion suffisante.
Et cliez les joueurs novices, ils sont quelquefois accuses au
point d'eveiller le sourire sur les levres des spectateurs."
Such movements, as it appeirs to me, may be attributed simply to habit.
As often as a man has wished to move an object to one side, he has
always pushed it to that side when forwards, he has pushed it forwards;
and if he has wished to arrest it, he has pulled backwards.
Therefore, when a man sees his ball travelling in a wrong direction,
and he intensely wishes it to go in another direction, he cannot avoid,
from long habit, unconsciously performing movements which in other
cases he has found effectual.

As an instance of sympathetic movements Gratiolet gives (p. 212)
the following case:--"un jeune chien A oreilles droites,
auquel son maitre presente de loin quelque viande appetissante,
fixe avec ardeur ses yeux sur cet objet dont il suit tous
les mouvements, et pendant que les yeux regardent, les deux oreilles
se portent en avant comme si cet objet pouvait etre entendu."
Here, instead of speaking of sympathy between the ears and eyes,
it appears to me more simple to believe, that as dogs during
many generations have, whilst intently looking at any object,
pricked their ears in order to perceive any sound; and conversely
have looked intently in the direction of a sound to which they
may have listened, the movements of these organs have become
firmly associated together through long-continued habit.

Dr. Piderit published in 1859 an essay on Expression, which I
have not seen, but in which, as he states, he forestalled
Gratiolet in many of his views. In 1867 he published his
`Wissenschaftliches System der Mimik und Physiognomik.' It is hardly
possible to give in a few sentences a fair notion of his views;
perhaps the two following sentences will tell as much as can
be briefly told: "the muscular movements of expression are
in part related to imaginary objects, and in part to imaginary
sensorial impressions. In this proposition lies the key
to the comprehension of all expressive muscular movements."
(s. 25) Again, "Expressive movements manifest themselves
chiefly in the numerous and mobile muscles of the face,
partly because the nerves by which they are set into motion originate
in the most immediate vicinity of the mind-organ, but partly
also because these muscles serve to support the organs of sense."
(s. 26.) If Dr. Piderit had studied Sir C. Bell's work,
he would probably not have said (s. 101) that violent
laughter causes a frown from partaking of the nature of pain;
or that with infants (s. 103) the tears irritate the eyes,
and thus excite the contraction of the surrounding in muscles.
Many good remarks are scattered throughout this volume,
to which I shall hereafter refer.

Short discussions on Expression may be found in various works,
which need not here be particularised. Mr. Bain, however,
in two of his works has treated the subject at some length.
He says,[8] "I look upon the expression so-called as part and parcel
of the feeling. I believe it to be a general law of the mind
that along with the fact of inward feeling or consciousness,
there is a diffusive action or excitement over the bodily members."
In another place he adds, "A very considerable number of the facts
may be brought under the following principle: namely, that states
of pleasure are connected with an increase, and states of pain
with an abatement, of some, or all, of the vital functions."
But the above law of the diffusive action of feelings seems too
general to throw much light on special expressions.

Mr. Herbert Spencer, in treating of the Feelings in his `Principles
of Psychology' (1855), makes the following remarks:--"Fear,
when strong, expresses itself in cries, in efforts to hide or escape,
in palpitations and tremblings; and these are just the manifestations
that would accompany an actual experience of the evil feared.
The destructive passions are shown in a general tension of the
muscular system, in gnashing of the teeth and protrusion of the claws,
in dilated eyes and nostrils in growls; and these are weaker
forms of the actions that accompany the killing of prey."
Here we have, as I believe, the true theory of a large number
of expressions; but the chief interest and difficulty of the
subject lies in following out the wonderfully complex results.
I infer that some one (but who he is I have not been able to ascertain)
formerly advanced a nearly similar view, for Sir C. Bell says,[9]
"It has been maintained that what are called the external signs
of passion, are only the concomitants of those voluntary movements
which the structure renders necessary." Mr. Spencer has also
published[10] a valuable essay on the physiology of Laughter,
in which he insists on "the general law that feeling passing
a certain pitch, habitually vents itself in bodily action,"
and that "an overflow of nerve-force undirected by any motive,
will manifestly take first the most habitual routes; and if these
do not suffice, will next overflow into the less habitual ones."
This law I believe to be of the highest importance in throwing
light on our subject.`

[8] `The Senses and the Intellect,' 2nd edit. 1864, pp. 96 and 288.
The preface to the first edition of this work is dated June, 1855.
See also the 2nd edition of Mr. Bain's work on the `Emotions and Will.'

[9] `The Anatomy of Expression,' 3rd edit. p. 121.

[10] `Essays, Scientific, Political, and Speculative,' Second Series,
1863, p. 111. There is a discussion on Laughter in the First Series
of Essays, which discussion seems to me of very inferior value.

[11] Since the publication of the essay just referred to,
Mr. Spencer has written another, on "Morals and Moral Sentiments,"
in the `Fortnightly Review,' April 1, 1871, p. 426. He has, also,
now published his final conclusions in vol. ii. of the second edit.
of the `Principles of Psychology,' 1872, p. 539. I may state,
in order that I may not be accused of trespassing on
Mr. Spencer's domain, that I announced in my `Descent of Man,'
that I had then written a part of the present volume: my first MS.
notes on the subject of expression bear the date of the year 1838.

All the authors who have written on Expression, with the exception
of Mr. Spencer--the great expounder of the principle of Evolution--
appear to have been firmly convinced that species, man of
course included, came into existence in their present condition.
Sir C. Bell, being thus convinced, maintains that many of our
facial muscles are "purely instrumental in expression;" or are "a
special provision" for this sole object.[12] But the simple fact
that the anthropoid apes possess the same facial muscles as we
do,[13] renders it very improbable that these muscles in our
case serve exclusively for expression; for no one, I presume,
would be inclined to admit that monkeys have been endowed with
special muscles solely for exhibiting their hideous grimaces.
Distinct uses, independently of expression, can indeed be assigned
with much probability for almost all the facial muscles.

Copyright (c) 2007. fullstories.net. All rights reserved.