The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
From Freepedia
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals is a book by the British naturalist Charles Darwin published in 1872, on how animals and humans express and signal to others their emotions. It, along with his 1871 book The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, was part of Darwin's attempt to address questions of human origins and human psychology using his theory of evolution by natural selection.
When writing The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication in 1866, Darwin intended to include a chapter including man in his theory, but the book became too big and he decided to write a separate "short essay" on ape ancestry, sexual selection and human expression which became two large volumes in The Descent of Man. After completing work on the proofs of The Descent of Man in January 1871, Darwin started on another book, using left over material on emotional expressions.
He became diverted into making extensive revisions to the Origin of Species, then in the spring of 1872 Darwin pressed on with The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, pointing to shared evolution in contrast to Charles Bell's Anatomy and Physiology of Expression which claimed divinely created muscles to express man's exquisite feelings. Darwin drew on world wide responses to his questionnaires, hundreds of photographs of actors, babies and "imbeciles" in an asylum, as well as his own observations, with particular empathy for the grief following a family death.
The proofs, tackled by his daughter Henrietta and son Leo, needed major revision which made him "sick of the subject, and myself, and the world". It was to be one of the first books with photographs, with seven heliotype plates, and Murray warned that this "would poke a terrible hole in the profits". The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals proved very popular, selling over 5,000 copies.
External links
Free e-book versions available on the internet:
- The writings of Charles Darwin on the web: London, John Murray, 1872
- Project Gutenberg: New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1899
See also
| Articles on Charles Darwin |
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| Biography: Charles Darwin's education - the Voyage of the Beagle - inception of Darwin's theory - development of Darwin's theory - publication of Darwin's theory - reaction to Darwin's theory - Darwin from Orchids to Variation - Darwin from Descent of Man to Emotions - Darwin from Insectiverous plants to Worms |
| Related articles: Darwin–Wedgwood family - Charles Darwin's views on religion - Charles Darwin's illness - Social Darwinism |
| Writings: The Voyage of the Beagle - On the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection - The Origin of Species - The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex - The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals |
| For full Bibliography see Charles Darwin - Published works |
