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The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

by Charles Darwin

4.02 · Rating details · 789 Ratings · 59 Reviews

Darwin's work of 1872 still provides the point of departure for research in the theory of emotion and expression. Although he lacked the modern research tool of cybernetics, his basic methods have not been improved upon. Lay readers, too, will be struck by the freshness and directness of this book, which includes, among other data, Darwin's delightfully objective analysis ...more

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Hardcover, 252 pages

Published August 14th 2006 by IndyPublish.com (first published 1872)

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Sep 12, 2015 Corinne rated it really liked it

Shelves: dignity, positive, non-fiction

Let me tell you how I got to this book.

You may already know the dictum of Jean Paul Sartre about animals as ‘animated things’, that is animals are moving things without emotions. This has revolted me always, but only recently I delved into this, subsequent to my encounter with a calf.

I have been observing this calf being licked tenderly by its mother cow, particularly on his head. This is a calf that always stays away from the rest of the calves. Then, after he came to see me over a number of d ...more

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Oct 31, 2015 طاهر الزهراني rated it really liked it · review of another edition

عجيب هذا الرجل في ملاحظاته وتأملاته، ولا أبالغ عندما أقول أن هذا الرجل آية كونية عظيمة من آيات الخالق :)
ما لفتني في هذا الرجل أيضا هذه الأمانة العلمية التي يتمتع بها، وعزوه للنصوص والملاحطات والرسوم، والإشادة بجهود الباحثين، داروين نموذج فريد للعالم النبيل، والخلوق.
أما الكتاب مذهل في بابه، وكانت الترجمة موفقة، وأسلوب داروين سلس وجميل في عرضه للأدلة و الملاحظات.
طبعا هذا الكتاب أردا به داروين أن يدعم به نظريته المشهورة نظرية "الإنتخاب الطبيعي" وهذا ما قرره وختم به كتابه حيث ذكر أن في سياقه لهذه ال ...more

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Apr 10, 2008 Meirav Rath rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: historians, Darwin fans, human behavior fans

Shelves: zoology

This book is more a historical document than a scientific paper, by today's requirements for scientific documents.
Darwing collects here his notes on the expressions of humans with a single chapter about animals and some referrences to monkeys, so the title is highly misleading (it annoyed me, anyways).

Despite that, this work is at the root of understanding both human and animal behavior and the three principles of expression are now evidently the base of every modern theory on animal and human b ...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Mamdouh Abdullah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

أنا لا أتمتع بسرعة كبيرة للفهم أو للبديهة … وقدرتي على متابعة سياق طويل وتام التجريد من الأفكار محدودة جداً .. و لكني أتفوق على النسق الشائع من الناس في مقدرتي على ملاحظة الأشياء التي تغيب بسهولة عن الانتباه, وعلى مراقبة تلك الأشياء بدقة.
تشارلز داروين.

من الإصدارات المميزة للمنظمة العربية للترجمة هو كتاب العالم البريطاني تشارلز داروين التعبير عن العواطف عند الإنسان والحيوانات The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals بترجمة مميزة للدكتور محمد الشيخلي, أستاذ الفيزياء الحيوية بجامعة بغداد. الدا أنا لا أتمتع بسرعة كبيرة للفهم أو للبديهة … وقدرتي على متابعة سياق طويل وتام التجريد من الأفكار محدودة جداً .. و لكني أتفوق على النسق الشائع من الناس في مقدرتي على ملاحظة الأشياء التي تغيب بسهولة عن الانتباه, وعلى مراقبة تلك الأشياء بدقة.
تشارلز داروين.

من الإصدارات المميزة للمنظمة العربية للترجمة هو كتاب العالم البريطاني تشارلز داروين التعبير عن العواطف عند الإنسان والحيوانات The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals بترجمة مميزة للدكتور محمد الشيخلي, أستاذ الفيزياء الحيوية بجامعة بغداد. الدار الناشرة تقول أن هذه الترجمة هي أول ترجمة لكتاب داروين. وهذه المعلومة غير صحيحة ويجب أن يتم تصحيحها في الطبعات القادمة. هذا الكتاب تم ترجمته في عام 2005 م من قبل المجلس الأعلى المصري للثقافة, إصدار رقم 977, بواسطة المترجم مجدي محمود المليجي, تحت عنوان التعبير عن الانفعالات في الإنسان و الحيوانات. هل هناك فروقات في الترجمتين؟ قرأت ترجمة المليجي السنة الماضية وتوقفت في منتصف الكتاب. لا أريد أن أعيب ترجمة المليجي, حاول جهده في ترجمة الكتاب كاملاً وكتب مقدمة مميزة, وكل ذلك يحسب له باعتباره صاحب المبادرة الأول في ترجمة الكتاب. و لكن كشخص غير مطلع بشكل كامل على المصطلحات الطبية والطبيعية سيجد مشكلة في الاستمرار في القراءة لعدم فهمه بعض المصطلحات التي تحتاج لتعريفات وتوضيح, وكلما كان هناك توضيح وتعريف, فالقراءة ستصبح بطيئة وقد تفشل. أما ترجمة محمد الشيخلي فهي سهلة القراءة وواضحة والمصطلحات مفهومة ونستخدمها يومياً. أي قارئ غير مختص بالأمور الطبية أو الطبيعية لن يجد مشكلة على الإطلاق في قراءة كتاب داروين هذا وبترجمة الشيخلي من إصدار المنظمة العربية للترجمة.

هل يجب أن يكون الكتاب ممتعاً حتى نقول عنه أنه رائع ويستحق القراءة؟ أي بأن القارئ يستعذب القراءة ويحبها, ولا يريد التوقف دقيقة واحدة. عند قراءة الرواية مثلاً, أي رواية جيدة من المؤكد أنها أعطت القارئ ما يبحث عنه, وإن لم يجد المتعة في الرواية سيقول أنها لا تستحق القراءة بشكل مباشر. ما ينطبق على الرواية هل يمكن أن ينطبق على الكتب الأخرى: الكتب الطبية مثلاً أو الفكرية وغيرها. هذا السؤال مهم جداً وليس عبثي. إجابة هذا السؤال ليست شيء مؤكد عند القراء على وجه العموم. هناك من يقرأ لسبب محدد, إن توفرت المتعة في المادة المقرؤة كان بها, وإن لم تكن هناك متعة فلن يتوقف عن القراءة لأنه أجبر نفسه على القراءة لعدة أسباب: ربما لهدف تعليمي أو نقدي. ولكن القارئ الحر الغير مرغم على قراءة كتاب محدد, لن يستمر في قراءته ما لم يجد المتعة في المادة المقرؤة. ولكن هذا الشيء محير بالفعل. كيف يمكن أن يكون كتاب فلسفي مثلاً ممتعاً. المفكر الفرنسي ميشيل فوكو في حوار له كان يشير إلى أنه في كتاباته يسعى لإمتاع القارئ أولاً قبل أن يقدم له خلاصة أفكاره. و لكن بعض المؤلفين لا يلقون بالاً للمتعة المرجوة التي يطمح إليها كل قارئ. هم يطلقون شرارة اللهب, إن حققت المتعة أم لا, فهي قد أُطلقت ولا سبيل لإيقافها. متعة القراءة موجودة في كل الكتب بلا استثناء. وكل قارئ يضع معيار متعة القراءة له. حتى أعقد الكتب الفلسفية التي – ربما – لا أجد فيها أي متعة على الإطلاق, هناك من يجد فيها متعة خالصة لا يمكن أن تتوفر في أي شيء آخر. أتذكر أني قرأت جزء رسالة مرسلة من نبيلة نمساوية إلى الفيلسوف الشهير إيمانويل كانط, تقول فيها: يا كانط العظيم, إليك ألجأ كما يلجئ المؤمن إلى إلهه. مضت في رسالتها تبث حبها له, وتقول : لولا كتبك لقتلت نفسي. السبب الذي يجبرني على طرح هذا الرأي هو كتاب داروين. صحيح أني أقرأ الأدب وأجد فيه ما ابحث عنه. ومع ذلك أفضل الخروج عن نطاق الأدب لأفتح مجالات قراءة أخرى. لا ابحث عن المتعة في الكتب الغير أدبية, فأنا ابحث عن التنويع واكتشاف مجالات جديدة. من الأشياء التي لم تخطر في بالي قط, أن أجد كتاب داروين هذا يحوي كل المتعة التي ابحث عنها في الأدب. أقرأ باستمتاع بالغ وكأني أقرأ نص أدبي بالغ الإتقان. ربما يعود السبب في ذلك لمادة البحث المطروحة في الكتاب, وهو شيء محبب ويحصل يومياً في حياتنا اليومية ونقرأ عنه في الأدب بشكل كبير, بل يعتبر من أساسيات الرواية والأدب: التعبير عن العواطف. أو ربما يعود السبب في طريقة ترتيب داروين لتلك المبادئ وتصنيفها والحديث عنها عبر استشهادات من المحيط القريب له, والبعيد جداً. هذه المتعة التي قدمها لي داروين أجبرتني لاحقاً على مشاهدة ثلاثة أفلام وثائقية عن داروين ونظرية التطور, وفيلم تلفزيوني عن حياة داروين.

هنا قراءة للكتاب من المدونة
http://wp.me/p28q6M-4N ...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Catherine O'Sullivan rated it it was ok

Shelves: victorian

Warning: if you read this book in a public space - like, say, a Subway - you will absent-mindedly start contorting your face in line with the facial expressions described in this book.

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Jul 20, 2009 lixy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-nature-language

Make sure you read the Paul Ekman-edited new version. Darwin, of course, is a genius, and this book seems so modern so as to be unimpressive for our era. It was ahead of its time in its cross-cultural analysis in Darwin's era, and even in the 60s Darwin's theories caused a scandal in the anthropology field between a then-established Margaret Mead, and the young Paul Ekman. Do not skip the intro, where this fascinating meta-story is told!

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Jan 13, 2009 Joshua Nomen-Mutatio rated it really liked it

Shelves: ethology, cognitive-science-and-or-psychology, evolutionary-theory

Read it for free:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1227

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Sep 29, 2017 Mohamedridha Alaskari محمد رضا العسكري rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: psychology, biology

Charles Darwin has started his argument in this book on three principles;
1- the movements which are serviceable in gratifying some desire or in relieving some sensation.
2- Antithesis: the habit of voluntarily performing opposite movements under opposite impulses has become firmly established in us by the practice of our whole lives.
3- The direct action of the excited nervous system on the body, independently of the will, and independently, in large part, of the habit.

On the one hand I have seen ...more

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May 24, 2012 Abdullah Droubi rated it liked it · review of another edition

آااااه .. وأخيرا" انتهيت من تناول عشرة كيلوغرامات من الشحوم والدهون الثلاثية! ربما الكتاب ليس بهذه الدسامة لكنه أوائل الكتب العلمية الصرفة التي قرأتها مما دعاني لهذا الإحساس.

الكتاب يحتوي على نظريات تفسر إنحدار بعض التعبيرات عند الإنسان من الحيوانات الأقل رقيا"، كما يفسر منشأ أو أصول البعض الآخر استنادا" إلى مبادئ ثلاثة عامة في التعبير يحاول شرحها في الفصول الأولى من الكتاب. ويتحدث الكتاب أيضا" عن النواحي الفيزيولوجية لمختلف مظاهر التعبير الجسدي عند الإنسان وبعض الحيوانات.

عادة"، طالما كنت ذلك الش آااااه .. وأخيرا" انتهيت من تناول عشرة كيلوغرامات من الشحوم والدهون الثلاثية! ربما الكتاب ليس بهذه الدسامة لكنه أوائل الكتب العلمية الصرفة التي قرأتها مما دعاني لهذا الإحساس.

الكتاب يحتوي على نظريات تفسر إنحدار بعض التعبيرات عند الإنسان من الحيوانات الأقل رقيا"، كما يفسر منشأ أو أصول البعض الآخر استنادا" إلى مبادئ ثلاثة عامة في التعبير يحاول شرحها في الفصول الأولى من الكتاب. ويتحدث الكتاب أيضا" عن النواحي الفيزيولوجية لمختلف مظاهر التعبير الجسدي عند الإنسان وبعض الحيوانات.

عادة"، طالما كنت ذلك الشخص الخجول الذي غالبا" ما يحاول قدر الإمكان تجنب تواصل العيون مع الآخرين خاصة الغرباء وقلما تمعنت النظر في وجه شخص لفترة طويلة بداعي الحياء أو الخجل، ولكن بعد أن بدأت في قراءة هذا الكتاب اصبح نظري يتفحص الأشخاص الذين يقفون أمامي، وجوههم، عيونهم، حركات أجسادهم، يحاول جاهدا" إدراك أو استنتاج أو التثبت من الجزيئات أو التفاصيل التي تخص العديد من مختلف أنواع التعبير التي قرأت عنها ضمن هذا الكتاب! اصبحت انظر لبكاء الطفل وصراخه بطريقة مختلفة، لغريزة الأمومة، للضحك، للبكاء، حتى القبلات .. فمن الأفكار التي جذبتني خلال قراءة هذا الكتاب هي أن التقبيل هو من العادات الشائعة عند البشر منذ أقدم السلالات للتعبير عن الحب أو الحنان، وقد دعاني هذا للتفكر بأنها تأتي بالتوازي مع الإحساس بالحاجة للتلامس أو ملامسة الأشخاص الذين نحبهم، ولربما كان التفسير العلمي لهذين النوعين من طرق التعبير كونهما الأكثر لذة وإشباع للرغبة أو الاحاسيس الفياضة هي أن الشفاه ورؤوس الأصابع هي أكثر مناطق الجسم غزارة بالحاسات اللمسية.

قد يكون الكتاب قديم نوعا" ما ولا يرقى لمستوى التطور في علوم الفيزيولوجيا الذي نشهده اليوم خاصة في أساليب التجربة و الاستنتاج البسيطة التي تعتمد كليا" على المراقبة الشخصية أو تعيين مراقبين آخرين، لكن الكتاب حتما" يحتوي على معلومات وأفكار جديرة بالاهتمام لكل الأشخاص المهتمين بالعلوم البيولوجية والفيزيولوجية، والكتاب لايخلو من بعض المطارح التي قد تضيف لك شيئا" فكريا" عند التفكر بها، لكن الكتاب بالعموم هو حتما" كتاب علمي، وأنا شخصيا" وجدت دراسة أساليب التعبير عند الكائنات عامة والإنسان خاصة موضوع مشوق ومثير للإهتمام، واعتقد أني سأقرأ المزيد عنه في المستقبل إن شاء الله. ...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Maaz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science, books-i-own

كتاب فسلجة بإمتياز. أهتم بطرق وأسباب التعبيرات في الإنسان والحيوان عن طريق مبادئ ثلاثة عامة في التعبير هي مبدأ العادات المقرونة بالفائدة ومبدأ النقيض أو الأطروحة المضادة وأخيراً مبدأ الفعاليات المسببة عن الجهاز العصبي والمستقلة تماماً عن الإرادة وإلى حد ما عن العادة. كشف الضوء على بعض التعقيدات في الجهاز العصبي لدينا أو حتى في الحيوانات مثل إذا طرأت حالتان ذهنيتان بنفس الوقت, أو بتعاقب متناغم في ترددها أو شدتها فإن الحالة الأولى تكون كافية لإستدعاء الحالة الأخرى سواء رغبنا فيها أو لم نرغب. وهناك كتاب فسلجة بإمتياز. أهتم بطرق وأسباب التعبيرات في الإنسان والحيوان عن طريق مبادئ ثلاثة عامة في التعبير هي مبدأ العادات المقرونة بالفائدة ومبدأ النقيض أو الأطروحة المضادة وأخيراً مبدأ الفعاليات المسببة عن الجهاز العصبي والمستقلة تماماً عن الإرادة وإلى حد ما عن العادة. كشف الضوء على بعض التعقيدات في الجهاز العصبي لدينا أو حتى في الحيوانات مثل إذا طرأت حالتان ذهنيتان بنفس الوقت, أو بتعاقب متناغم في ترددها أو شدتها فإن الحالة الأولى تكون كافية لإستدعاء الحالة الأخرى سواء رغبنا فيها أو لم نرغب. وهناك أيظاً فعاليات أخرى تحدث سببها هو المحاكاة أو التعاطف وهي تقليد تعابير آخرى نراها ولكن قد تكون بلا أي فائدة تذكر لنا. أكثر موضوع مشيق هو الضحك وهل في إستطاعة الحيوانات أن تضحك, بحثت في الآنترنت عن دراسات وشاهدت عدد من الفيديوات ورغم أن ضحكاتها تختلف قليلاً وأحيانا تكون بلا صوت فإنها تشبه ضحكة الإنسان رغم أن ضحك الإنسان لا يزال فريداً من نوعه. ما أستفزني هو بعض إستنتاجات داروين لتفسير بعض تعبيرات الغضب لدى الإنسان على أن لها أصل للحيوان شبيه القرد. ولكن أليس هناك الكثير من التعابير التي تشبه باقي الحيوانات وليس القرود فقط. ولكن سأقتبس ما قاله هو بالحرف الواحد: وسيبقى عدد من النقاط التابعة لنظرية التعبير غامضاً وغير قابل للتفسير. ...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Kio added it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-english

I don't think I'm ever going to finish this cover to cover so here goes...

Good book. Obviously not a story, but it's a fascinating observation of how emotions are expressed. Darwin well documents where all his deduction comes from, if he suspects the credibility of anything and why... and so on. If you're studying Enlightenment/Humanities/anything along those lines, it's also a good firsthand look into the MO and influences of thinkers of the time.

Nevermind how notable Darwin is.

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Mar 31, 2017 Nikos Korexenidis rated it it was ok

Outdated. Only useful as historical reference. Paul Ekman has better book for facial expressions

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Dec 22, 2013 Bob Nichols rated it it was ok · review of another edition

In this book Darwin writes mostly about the overt expressions of emotions, not about their evolutionary function or, for that matter, what constitutes an emotion (versus sensation, feeling, affect, passion). And, at times, it's not clear if Darwin is describing an emotion itself or its expression. The value of this book, following his "Origins" and "Descent" books, is that Darwin suggests a universal innateness in certain human emotional expressions and their close tie to the non-human animal wo In this book Darwin writes mostly about the overt expressions of emotions, not about their evolutionary function or, for that matter, what constitutes an emotion (versus sensation, feeling, affect, passion). And, at times, it's not clear if Darwin is describing an emotion itself or its expression. The value of this book, following his "Origins" and "Descent" books, is that Darwin suggests a universal innateness in certain human emotional expressions and their close tie to the non-human animal world.

Darwin opens this book by outlining three principles that explain these expressions, but his discussion was not all that understandable. His first principle is that our (animal?) ancestors voluntary actions became reinforced by habit before becoming fixed as an inherited characteristic. I didn't understand this. An emotional expression seems to be more like a byproduct of an underlying emotion that was formed by fortuitous mutation and selected by natural selection. For example, it's likely that reptiles didn't "choose" to be fearful, but those with fearful responses were able to survive and pass along this capacity and the physiological expressions that go along with it to succeeding generations. I also didn't understand the significance of Darwin's second principle of antithesis whereby "actions of a directly opposite kind, though of no use, should be unconsciously performed through habit and association, under the influence of a directly opposite sensation or emotion," and that these expressions become "hereditary through long practice." For illustration, Darwin might be referring in part to "sympathy," where we mirror certain actions that we are performing, such as moving our "jaws simultaneously with the blades of the scissors." His third principle involves clear expressions that come directly from the nervous system, independent of the will and largely independent of habit. Here Darwin appears to align himself with Spencer's argument about the "overflow of nervous energy."

Darwin's theory seems Lamarckian: Do something good long enough and it becomes inherited. His theory is strikingly similar to Spencer's 1852 critique of Alexander Bain (Darwin's book has numerous references to both). Spencer uses a Lamarck-like argument to demonstrate the development of emotions from "lower" life forms, and from the lower emotions of human "savages" who are focused only on immediate desires, to the sophisticated, cognition-infused higher emotions of "civilized" peoples. These higher-level emotions, Spencer states, then become hereditary: "We know that emotional characteristics...are hereditary; and the differences between civilized nations descended from the same stock show us the cumulative results of small modifications hereditarily transmitted." This type of argument was pre-Mendel, and we now have a significantly different view how new traits develop, genetically. Spencer's argument also stands in stark contrast to what some modern-day neuroscience says about emotions - that the primal impulses and responses in lowly reptiles, and the social emotions of mammals and primates, are very much operative in all humans, today, no matter how civilized they are. In other words, while the neo-cortex adds to the pot, the stew is essentially the same. In part, Darwin's "Expressions" book makes an argument for universal emotions and their expression, but his argument regarding their origins may not be at all accurate.

Darwin discusses "emotions and sensations" as if they are emotional reactions (fear, anger) to an outside stimulus, but elsewhere he hints that emotions are inner needs that push the self outward. He mentions that certain actions "relieve or gratify certain sensations, desires, &c" and refers to "desire or sensation," suggesting that emotions are outgoing actions and the expression of internal need (i.e., we give an emotional response to an external stimulus). I have no clue what "&c" refers to and it adds to the confusion. With his emphasis on expression versus underlying emotion itself, Darwin does not clarify that a single expression may have more than one emotional impetus. For example, ill-temper and its various expressions may be the result of chronic bodily pain, or from a perpetual anger at negative stimuli from the outside, the inability of the self to satisfy its needs and desires, or it may be just poor body chemistry.

Darwin's strongest discussion is on the expressions (blushing, shyness, shame) coming from unwanted self-attention. This was excellent. While good, and acknowledging the difficult historical context for this sort of a book, Darwin's discussion takes our insight about emotions only so far. Darwin says these expressions from unwanted attention are due to concern about what others think, but he does not indicate why this should be a concern at all. For that answer, the reader must go to Darwin's "Descent" and his discussion of our tribal nature. ...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Prooost Davis rated it really liked it

When presented the theory of evolution, Darwin's contemporaries were willing to agree with it up to a point, but many people still wanted to believe that humans were a special case (uniquely created by God), much too advanced intellectually and morally to be related to the lower animals; others were upset that the theory said that Europeans were related to races they considered savage. Darwin wrote this book, as well as "Descent of Man," to demonstrate the similarities in behavior between man an ...more

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Jun 25, 2014 Mengsen Zhang rated it really liked it

Darwin was definitely a genius! This book reveals him as an ultra observant naturalist and have great imagination and abstraction. Among the three principles of expression, the 2nd- the principle of antithesis - reminded me a lot of ancient greek thoughts, e.g. unity of the opposites, - and a much neglected point by modern neuroscientists.
Nonetheless, one thing he struggled too much about is to find *one* or *only a few* reasons for the origin of the expression of a specific emotion. I may thin ...more

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Mar 21, 2014 Philippe Malzieu rated it it was amazing

For everybody, Darwin is only associated wit the theory of évolution. By this book, the last one, he is also one of the father of éthology, the science of animal comportment.
He defines 6 elementary feelings which are for him universal in the animal kingdom. Things evolved. There are now computing tools to model the feelings. The eyebrow plays a major role in this expression. Darwin had noted its relative immobility to the chimpanzee. According to Popper, it would contradict the theory.
We know ...more

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Oct 29, 2014 Dominique Renison rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Incredibly interesting book, while some parts are funny by todays standards (sometimes the comparisons with retards/mentally ill and aboriginals is a bit racist and non PC to the point of being laugh out loud hilarious) it is a very educational piece of work which gives a excellent analysis of which emotions and expressions are innate and which are learned. Darwin was such a revolutionary thinker. I enjoy anything he wrote.

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Jun 04, 2009 Valerie added it

This book made my skin crawl, frankly. I never had any doubt that human emotions were the same as 'animal' emotions, and were often expressed the same way. But Darwin's description of his research strategy reveals appalling cruelty in the way animals (particularly zoo animals) were treated in the Victorian era--there are several descriptions of how animals resond to being beaten, for example.

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Jun 06, 2017 Sandro rated it did not like it

Shelves: biology, non-fiction, science

Too close to psychology for my taste. To be honest: my reading direction was slightly "diagonal".

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Feb 14, 2010 Tony rated it really liked it

Shelves: science

Darwin, Charles. THE EXPRESSION OF THE EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS. (1872; this ed. 2008). ****. This edition was a Folio Society reprint of the first edition with an introduction by Steven Pinker, and enhanced by the original plates plus additional plates and drawings taken from the Darwin collection at Cambridge. It is difficult to give any reasonable idea of the scope of Darwin’s studies as presented in this book, but a quote from the introduction will give you some idea. “Why do we shrug? Wh Darwin, Charles. THE EXPRESSION OF THE EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS. (1872; this ed. 2008). ****. This edition was a Folio Society reprint of the first edition with an introduction by Steven Pinker, and enhanced by the original plates plus additional plates and drawings taken from the Darwin collection at Cambridge. It is difficult to give any reasonable idea of the scope of Darwin’s studies as presented in this book, but a quote from the introduction will give you some idea. “Why do we shrug? Why do dogs wag their tails? Why do we scowl when angry and pout when sad, rather than the other way around? What is the difference between guilt and shame? Darwin’s The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals would be an extraordinary book even if it had only answered these and scores of similar questions about the emotions in 1872. But The Expression of the Emotions also proved that the human mind, not just the body, is a product of evolution. It showed, during the heyday of scientific racism, that the races of mankind are fundamentally similar. It anticipated virtually every twentieth-century behavioural science: child development, psychopathology, ethnography, ethology, cognitive science and neurophysiology. It was the first scientific work to rely on photography.” The Expression of Emotions is a captivating book, although written in the favored style of the 19th century. Not content to deal only with his fellow Englishmen, Darwin sent off questionnaires to missionaries and explorers. He reported that many of our familiar expressions are also found among “Hindoos, Kafirs, Negroes, wild Malays, Esquimaux, New Zealanders, Abyssinians, the Dyaks of Borneo, and Indians of North America.” This led him to the conclusion that “the several races (are) descended from a single parent-stock, which must have been almost completely human in structure, and to a large extent in mind, before the period at which the races diverged from each other.” Again, this is a fascinating book and one that should be considered one of the main volumes in the history of science. Recommended. ...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Simone Zacarias rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I find remarkable the way in which Darwin addressed the universality of a character so apparently subjective as emotion in humans (and animals). It surely agrees with his "Evolutionary mindset" but it is quite original for his lifetime cultural and social contexts to compare the western "civilized" societies to the "savage" ones in the way he attempted to.

I see scientific and historical value of this book. Some have misused the Darwinian ideas on "struggle for life", particularly applied to hum ...more

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Jan 01, 2015 Cyndie rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobooks, non-fiction

Listened on audiobook and alternatively horrified, fascinated, and bored by this book in turns. Cannot say that I think I learned anything new or useful.

The interesting: Intriguing to see behavior through the point of view from someone from such a long time ago. A lot of the behaviors that Darwin wonders about we now have strong neuroendocrine explanations which pretty elegantly resolve the contradictions he struggled with. Also nice to see that even he seemed to understand that many of our beh ...more

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Nov 16, 2013 Kelly rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: grad-school, psychology, science, ebooks

This book is definitely worth reading for its historical interest value (to see how early research into emotions was conducted) and to see the thoroughness of Darwin's observations, especially the great deal of work he puts into cross-cultural investigation, given the limited resources at his disposal. However, some of his explanations seem almost silly in light of what scientists know today. For example, in some places he refers to increased heart rate caused by some emotions as coming from hab ...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Steve rated it liked it

Shelves: biography, science

I confess I had no intention of reading the Expressions of Emotions in Man, and purely lifted this volume in order to peruse the Autobiography. Having read both Origins and Descent of man I am well used to Darwin’s laborious style of dialogue and could not face another of his scientific treatise.

The Autobiography is short (about 80 pages) and was intended as a letter of sorts for his children. It contains, perhaps surprisingly, more than a little humour. The early parts concerning his childhood ...more

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Aug 29, 2013 Melissa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biology, natural-history

Darwin's meticulous documentation of variation and context is on display in this rich text on expressions of emotions in humans and animals. Darwin is a close observer of his world, and a generous author. It is difficult to take this book in at once, but it was Darwin's intention for readers to refer to it often rather than reading it cover to cover at once. And this seems obvious from the incredible amount of details that goes into each observation and described emotion, from the hunch of a dog ...more

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Jan 14, 2016 Ghadeer Mansour rated it liked it · review of another edition

وصف دارون في الفصول الأولى من الكتاب الأفعال التعبيرية الرئيسة في الحيوانات الأقل رقيًا ثم الأعلى رقيًا، ثم في الإنسان بأكثر من نصف الكتاب. وقد حاول تفسير أصل هذه الأفعال وتطوّرها من خلال المبادئ الثلاثة المفصّلة في الفصل الأول، كما حللها تشريحيًا وفسيولوجيًا. وإن أمتع فصول الكتاب هي التي قارن فيها بين تعبيرات الإنسان والحيوانات الراقية التي انحدر منها (القرود).
يقول دارون: "لقد حاولتُ جاهدًا أن أبيّن بتفاصيل مفعمة بأن التعبيرات الرئيسة التي يستخدمها الإنسان متشابهة في عموم العالم، وإن هذه الحقي ...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Gerhard Kleynhans rated it really liked it

This work by Darwin shows his qualities as a scientist. It presents a scientist with deep and wide knowledge hard at work using exceptional observational skills to meticulously document and interpret his own observations and data available to him. The work is therefore educational as a study of scientific method in its own right.

Designers of robots with humanoid features may also find this work by Darwin to be a useful reference for factual information as well as method in this field of study.

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Oct 01, 2015 Feisty Harriet rated it liked it

Shelves: charles-darwin, science, animal-psychology, evolution

This is basically a research text book, it comprises years of observations and notes made by Darwin and other scientists around the world on Darwin's request (the first version of crowd sourcing). In many ways this book is still the foundation for animal psychology (humans and otherwise), and proves emotional responses is the animal kingdom.

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Jan 18, 2013 Krystal rated it really liked it · review of another edition

First reading of Darwin. I recognize that this was written over a century ago, but the un-summarized French passages and extensive sentence structuring makes it difficult to read. However, I find myself continually entranced by the content and do indeed find myself trying to replicate certain expressions as discussed.

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May 05, 2010 Patrick rated it liked it · review of another edition

Reading the book made me like Charles Darwin. He came across as a good man who loved his big family and his dogs.

It also gave me a little more respect for modern science as Darwin used Shakespeare, antidotes from doctors of the day, and his observations to speculate a great deal on emotions and their origin. Apparently a good deal of it turned out to be correct as well.

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About Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, eminent as a collector and geologist, who proposed and provided scientific evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection. The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community and the general public in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selec Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, eminent as a collector and geologist, who proposed and provided scientific evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection. The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community and the general public in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selection came to be widely seen as the primary explanation of the process of evolution in the 1930s, and now forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory. In modified form, Darwin’s scientific discovery remains the foundation of biology, as it provides a unifying logical explanation for the diversity of life.

Darwin developed his interest in natural history while studying medicine at Edinburgh University, then theology at Cambridge. His five-year voyage on the Beagle established him as a geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell’s uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author. Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin investigated the transmutation of species and conceived his theory of natural selection in 1838. Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research and his geological work had priority. He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay which described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories.

His 1859 book On the Origin of Species established evolution by common descent as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. He examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.

In recognition of Darwin’s pre-eminence, he was one of only five 19th century UK non-royal personages to be honoured by a state funeral, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to John Herschel and Isaac Newton.

(Arabic: تشارلز داروين) ...more

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