The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals facts for kids
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| Author | Charles Darwin |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Evolutionary theory, behaviour |
| Publisher | John Murray |
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Publication date
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1872 |
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals is a famous book by Charles Darwin. It was published in 1872. This book is Darwin's third big work about how living things change over time, called evolution. His other important books were On the Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871).
Darwin first planned for this book to be a part of The Descent of Man. But that book was already very long, so he decided to publish The Expression of the Emotions on its own.
This book looks at how humans and other mammals show their feelings. Darwin believed that our emotions are passed down through families, just like our bodies. He thought emotions have also changed and developed over many years, just like our physical features.
Contents
What the Book Is About
This book explores why we show emotions in certain ways. For example, why do we lift our eyebrows when we are surprised? Or why do we blush when we feel confused or embarrassed?
Darwin's book was special because it was one of the first to use photographs to show scientific proof. This helped people see clearly what he was talking about. Today, studying how our genes affect our behavior is called behavioural genetics.
One of Darwin's main ideas was that all humans came from a single origin. He also believed that people all over the world show emotions in similar ways. He saw clear connections between how humans show feelings and how other mammals do. Our emotional displays might come from simpler ways of showing feelings that many mammals share.
How Emotions Are Shown
Darwin thought that our emotional displays are inherited. They are often automatic, meaning we do them without thinking. It can be very hard to control these emotional signs with our conscious mind. They are often controlled by the older, unconscious mind. Modern studies show that it is very difficult to hide our true feelings.
Book's Impact and Translations
The Expression of the Emotions was quickly translated into other languages. A German version came out in 1872. Dutch and French versions followed in 1873 and 1874. A second edition of the book was published in 1890, with only small changes.
Images for kids
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Illustration of grief from The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
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Figure 4: "A small dog watching a cat on a table", made from a photograph by Oscar Gustave Rejlander
See also
In Spanish: La expresión de las emociones en el hombre y en los animales para niños
