Facial Expressions
A History on Universal Facial Expressions:
The Works of Lamarck, Izard and Russell
Kathleen Coyne-Boyles
From the time of the ancient Greeks through to the modern age, understanding and interpreting man’s emotions and body language have been a source of both fasicnation and a point of intellectual debate. The ancient philosophers, such as Aristotle, proposed the idea that the face takes on varying appearances which are characteristic of each of the passions (or emotions) of humankind. The famous Greek masks of the theatre embody exaggerated facial expressions in order to dramatize the great joys and tragedies of human existence. Artists throughout history have worked to capture facial expression while philosophers have debated about the forms that they take.
Early evolutionary biologists such as Darwin and Lamarck questioned the origins of facial expressions of emotion. Evolutionists like Lamarck searched for answers as to how these expressions evolve or are passed down to succeeding generations. Scientists began to explore the evolution of biological functions of the facial nerves and muslces which correspond to expression of a particluar emotion.. In the modern era, American psychologists in the twentieth century began to specualate on long-held assumptions about facial expression and became fascinated by the possible universality and characteristics of certain core emotions.
One of the main reasons for the fascination with facial expressionss is that humans seem to be biologically programmed to focus on the human face A child, for instance, tends to bond and communicate non-verbally with others in their surroundings by studying and often touching the face of their caregivers. This phenomenon tends to occur across cultures. Alternatively, some expressions of emotion seem to present themselves within a specific cultural context.
As a basis for further human understanding, the topic of emotion and its relation to facial expression has re-emerged into
The Works of Lamarck, Izard and Russell
Kathleen Coyne-Boyles
From the time of the ancient Greeks through to the modern age, understanding and interpreting man’s emotions and body language have been a source of both fasicnation and a point of intellectual debate. The ancient philosophers, such as Aristotle, proposed the idea that the face takes on varying appearances which are characteristic of each of the passions (or emotions) of humankind. The famous Greek masks of the theatre embody exaggerated facial expressions in order to dramatize the great joys and tragedies of human existence. Artists throughout history have worked to capture facial expression while philosophers have debated about the forms that they take.
Early evolutionary biologists such as Darwin and Lamarck questioned the origins of facial expressions of emotion. Evolutionists like Lamarck searched for answers as to how these expressions evolve or are passed down to succeeding generations. Scientists began to explore the evolution of biological functions of the facial nerves and muslces which correspond to expression of a particluar emotion.. In the modern era, American psychologists in the twentieth century began to specualate on long-held assumptions about facial expression and became fascinated by the possible universality and characteristics of certain core emotions.
One of the main reasons for the fascination with facial expressionss is that humans seem to be biologically programmed to focus on the human face A child, for instance, tends to bond and communicate non-verbally with others in their surroundings by studying and often touching the face of their caregivers. This phenomenon tends to occur across cultures. Alternatively, some expressions of emotion seem to present themselves within a specific cultural context.
As a basis for further human understanding, the topic of emotion and its relation to facial expression has re-emerged into