The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (Cambridge Library Collection - Darwin, Evolution and Genetics) - Softcover

Darwin, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1108004830 ISBN 13: 9781108004831

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2010

Synopsis

Darwin's detailed analysis of what actually happens to a body in a state of fear, or joy, or anger.

About this title

Review

a He who admits, on general grounds, that the structure and habits of all animals have been gradually evolved will look at the whole subject of Expression in a new and interesting light.a
aCharles Darwin

From the Publisher

some excerpts from the British reviews
‘The definitive work on the subject... a literary gem and a seminal scientific discourse.’ MICHAEL WHITE, Mail on Sunday

‘Darwin’s most engaging study, displaying all his redoubtable talents for uncovering hidden detail...brought smiles of delight to my face.’ ROY PORTER, The Times

‘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? This would be an extraordinary book even it had only answered these and scores of similar questions about the emotions in 1872. But Expression 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; anticipating virtually every twentieth-century behavioural science, from child development and psychopathology to ethnography, ethology, cognitive science, and europhysiology. It was the first scientific work to rely on photography. Expression is a captivating book...Darwin enriched his arguments with hundreds of insightful observations, many with the pathos and humour of great literature, as when he describes the terror of a man being led to his execution or the comical dejection of his dog as soon as it sensed that a walk might end...This edition has the feel not of a lovingly restored museum piece but of a recent seminal work that needed only minor updating. It is as fresh and provocative today as it was 125 years ago.’ STEVEN PINKER Science

‘A masterpiece’ Evening Standard

‘Darwin’s forgotten masterwork provides a combination of the voyeurism of a Desmond Morris book and the rigour of a Richard Dawkins tract.’ KENAN MALIK, Independent on Sunday

‘Excellent ...both scholarly and lively.’ LAURENCE HURST, New Scientist

‘Highly original...a treasure trove of a third edition, this is scholarship at its best.’ SIMON BARON-COHEN, Nature

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1108004830
• ISBN 13: 9781108004831
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 424