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The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Flashcards

Darwin argues that emotional expressions are inherited behaviours shaped by evolution, not divinely created signs unique to humans. The deck covers his critiques of Bell, Moreau, Duchenne, Gratiolet and Spencer, and his case against separate creation as an explanation for expression.

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Chapter 1 · Question

What does Darwin say Sir Charles Bell's chief service to the subject was?

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Section 14 cards
  1. What does Darwin say Sir Charles Bell's chief service to the subject was?

    Darwin credits Bell with showing the intimate relation between movements of expression and those of respiration. He singles out Bell's point that the muscles round the eyes contract involuntarily during violent expiratory efforts to protect the delicate organs from blood pressure—a fact Donders investigated for Darwin and which Darwin says illuminates several important human expressions.

    Chapter 1

  2. How does Darwin distinguish expression from physiognomy at the start?

    Darwin states that many works concern physiognomy, which he defines as recognizing character through the permanent form of the features. He says he is not concerned with that subject here. His topic is expression, and he adds that the older treatises he consulted were of little or no service to him.

    Chapter 1

  3. Which older works on expression does Darwin judge valuable, and which not?

    Darwin says the older treatises he consulted were of little or no service. He calls Le Brun's 'Conférences' (1667) the best known ancient work, containing some good remarks, and says Camper's 'Discours' (1774–1782) hardly made any marked advance. By contrast, he says Sir Charles Bell's work deserves the fullest consideration.

    Chapter 1

  4. Who is quoted praising Bell's book, and how does the quotation describe it?

    M. Lemoine is quoted saying Bell's book should be meditated on by anyone trying to make the human face speak, by philosophers as well as artists. Under its lighter appearance and pretext of aesthetics, Lemoine calls it one of the most beautiful monuments of the science of the relations between the physical and the moral.

    Chapter 1

Section 24 cards
  1. Why does Darwin reject Moreau's explanation of frowning?

    Darwin quotes Moreau's claim that the corrugator muscles are fitted to concentrate the face's features so as to offer less surface to painful impressions, but says such remarks throw little light on the philosophy of the subject. He states that anyone who thinks these remarks explain the meaning or origin of expressions takes a very different view of the subject than he does.

    Chapter 2

  2. What did Duchenne contribute, and what limitation does Darwin note?

    Duchenne analysed facial muscle movements using electricity and illustrated them with photographs, which Darwin was permitted to copy. Darwin says Duchenne greatly advanced the subject by studying each muscle's contraction and showing which muscles are least under separate will. Darwin allows Duchenne may have exaggerated the importance of single-muscle contraction, since muscles are intimately connected, but thinks he probably is generally right.

    Chapter 2

  3. How does Darwin explain Gratiolet's billiards example?

    Gratiolet, following Chevreul, describes a billiards player who pushes with eyes, head, and shoulders as if symbolic movements could correct the ball's path. Darwin says such movements may be attributed simply to habit: whenever a man has wished to move an object sideways or forwards he has pushed it that way, so when he intensely wishes his ball to go another direction he unconsciously performs movements long found effectual.

    Chapter 2

  4. How does Darwin reinterpret Gratiolet's dog example?

    Gratiolet describes a dog intently watching meat, its ears pricked forward as if the object could be heard, and calls this sympathy between ears and eyes. Darwin finds it simpler to believe that dogs over many generations have pricked their ears while looking intently and looked toward sounds while listening, so the movements of these organs have become firmly associated through long-continued habit.

    Chapter 2

Section 34 cards
  1. How does Herbert Spencer explain the physical signs of fear and destructive passions?

    Spencer argues that strong fear shows itself in cries, hiding or escape, palpitations and tremblings—just the manifestations that would accompany an actual experience of the feared evil. The destructive passions appear as general muscular tension, teeth-gnashing, claw protrusion, dilated eyes and nostrils, and growls: weaker forms of the actions that accompany killing prey. Darwin calls this the true theory of many expressions.

    Chapter 3

  2. Why does Darwin doubt that facial muscles exist purely for expression?

    Sir C. Bell held that many facial muscles are purely instrumental in expression, a special provision for that sole object. Darwin counters that anthropoid apes possess the same facial muscles as humans, so it is very improbable these muscles serve exclusively for expression—no one would admit monkeys were endowed with special muscles solely for hideous grimaces. Distinct non-expressive uses can probably be assigned to almost all facial muscles.

    Chapter 3

  3. What does Darwin say about Bell's claim that animals express only rage and fear?

    Bell asserted that lower creatures show no expression beyond what relates to volition or necessary instinct, and their faces seem chiefly capable of rage and fear. Darwin objects: a dog greeting its beloved master with drooping ears, hanging lips, flexuous body and wagging tail expresses love and humility more plainly than man can by external signs, and these movements cannot be explained by volition or instinct any more than a man's smile at an old friend.

    Chapter 3

  4. Why does Darwin think belief in separate creation blocks understanding of expression?

    Darwin argues that viewing man and animals as independent creations puts an effectual stop to investigating causes, since anything can be equally well explained—a doctrine pernicious to Expression as to other branches of natural history. Some expressions, like hair bristling in terror or teeth uncovered in rage, are hardly understandable unless man once existed in a lower animal-like condition; shared expressions in allied species make more sense through common descent.

    Chapter 3

Section 44 cards
  1. What four methods did Darwin use to study emotional expression?

    Darwin studied infants, the insane, Duchenne's galvanized facial photographs, works of art, and different human races. He observed infants because they show emotions with extraordinary force; he studied the insane because they give uncontrolled vent to passions; he showed Duchenne's plates to educated persons without explanation; and he circulated printed queries in 1867 to compare expressions across races.

    Chapter 4

  2. Why did Darwin find paintings and sculptures of limited use?

    Darwin examined photographs and engravings of many well-known works but, with few exceptions, did not profit from them. He reasoned that in works of art beauty is the chief object, and strongly contracted facial muscles destroy beauty. The story of the composition is instead told with force and truth by skilfully given accessories.

    Chapter 4

  3. What error did Darwin's own reading of Duchenne's photographs reveal?

    When Darwin first looked through Duchenne's photographs while reading the text and thus learning what was intended, he admired the truthfulness of nearly all of them. But he acknowledged that if he had examined them without explanation, he would likely have been as perplexed as others were, showing how easily imagination misguides us.

    Chapter 4

  4. Why did Darwin circulate printed queries about expressions across races?

    Darwin thought it important to ascertain whether the same expressions and gestures prevail with all races, especially those little associated with Europeans. If the same movements express the same emotions in several distinct races, we may infer with much probability that such expressions are innate or instinctive; conventional gestures acquired in early life would probably differ across races, as languages do.

    Chapter 4

Section 54 cards
  1. What did Darwin ask observers about head movements in his queries?

    Darwin asked whether the head is nodded vertically in affirmation and shaken laterally in negation. He valued observations on natives with little communication with Europeans most, and requested definite descriptions of countenances under emotion with the circumstances, rather than general remarks or trusted memory.

    Chapter 5

  2. How did Darwin treat simple yes-or-no answers from his correspondents?

    Darwin received thirty-six answers from observers, many missionaries or protectors of aborigines. He placed much confidence in answers where circumstances and described expressions were recorded, but always received simple yes or no answers with caution. From the information he concluded the same state of mind is expressed worldwide with remarkable uniformity.

    Chapter 5

  3. Why did Darwin consider observing animals of paramount importance?

    Darwin attended closely to expressions of passions in commoner animals, believing this of paramount importance not for deciding which human expressions characterize states of mind, but as the safest basis for generalizing on the causes or origin of expressive movements. He argued we are less likely to be biased by imagination when observing animals, and can feel safe their expressions are not conventional.

    Chapter 5

  4. Why did Darwin find observing expression difficult, and how did he try to test explanations?

    Darwin cited the fleeting nature of expressions, sympathy distracting attention, imagination deceiving us, and long familiarity as making observation hard. He hoped doubts were cleared by studying infants, the insane, different races, works of art, and facial muscles under galvanism. To test explanations, he checked whether the same principle applied to allied cases and to both man and lower animals.

    Chapter 5

Section 64 cards
  1. Why did Darwin value observations of natives unaccustomed to Europeans?

    Darwin sought observers who studied peoples with little prior contact with white men, believing such observations were more trustworthy. Mr. F. Geach observed Malays in interior Malacca who had never before associated with white men. Similarly, Darwin dismissed information about Negro slaves in America because they had long associated with white men, so such observations would possess little value.

    Chapter 6

  2. What difficulty did Mr. Erskine face observing expressions in India?

    While residing in the Admednugur District of the Bombay Presidency, Mr. Erskine attended to the expressions of inhabitants but found much difficulty reaching safe conclusions, because they habitually concealed all emotions in the presence of Europeans. He also gathered information from Mr. West, the Judge in Canara, and consulted intelligent native gentlemen on certain points.

    Chapter 6

  3. How many facial muscle pairs do writers estimate, and are they variable?

    Some writers consider the facial muscles consist of nineteen pairs with one unpaired, but others make the number much larger, up to fifty-five according to Moreau. Everyone who has written on the subject admits they are very variable in structure; Moreau remarks they are hardly alike in half-a-dozen subjects. They are also variable in function, such as uncovering the canine tooth on one side.

    Chapter 6

  4. What three principles does Darwin propose to explain expression?

    Darwin states he arrived at his three Principles only at the close of his observations. They are meant to account for most expressions and gestures involuntarily used by man and lower animals under various emotions and sensations. He discusses them generally in the present and two following chapters, using facts from both man and lower animals, preferring the latter as less likely to deceive.

    Chapter 6

Section 74 cards
  1. What are Darwin's three principles explaining expressive movements?

    Darwin names three: the principle of serviceable associated Habits, where movements useful under a state of mind recur by habit even when useless; the principle of Antithesis, where an opposite state of mind prompts involuntary opposite movements of no use; and the principle of direct action of the nervous system, where excess nerve-force is generated and transmitted in definite directions independent of will and partly of habit.

    Chapter 7

  2. How does Darwin explain a man scratching his head when perplexed?

    The author argues it is done from habit, as if the man felt a slightly uncomfortable bodily sensation—an itching of the head to which he is particularly liable—and thus relieves it. Similarly, another man rubs his eyes when perplexed or gives a little cough when embarrassed, acting as if he felt discomfort in his eyes or windpipe.

    Chapter 7

  3. What examples show inherited habitual movements in animals?

    Darwin cites horses' transmitted paces such as cantering and ambling, which are not natural to them; the pointing of young pointers and setting of young setters; and the peculiar flight of certain pigeon breeds. He also notes the Sphinx-moth, which shortly after emerging from its cocoon hovers and inserts its proboscis into flowers without ever being seen learning the task.

    Chapter 7

  4. How does Gratiolet describe eye movements when accepting or rejecting a proposition?

    Gratiolet remarks that a man who vehemently rejects a proposition will almost certainly shut his eyes or turn away his face, while if he accepts it he will nod in affirmation and open his eyes widely. Darwin says the man acts as if he clearly saw the thing when accepting, and as if he did not or would not see it when rejecting.

    Chapter 7

Section 84 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what did the decapitated frog do when acid was placed on its thigh?

    It rubbed the acid off with the foot of the same leg; when that foot was cut off, after fruitless efforts it used the other leg. Darwin cites Pflüger to argue this shows combined, harmonized muscle contractions for a special purpose, appearing guided by intelligence and will though the organ of intelligence has been removed.

    Chapter 8

  2. How does Darwin contrast reflex actions with voluntary movements in young children?

    Darwin reports, via Sir Henry Holland, that young children cannot blow their noses or clear their throats of phlegm and must learn these acts, though later they perform them almost as easily as reflex actions. Sneezing and coughing can be controlled by the will only partially or not at all, whereas clearing the throat and blowing the nose are completely under our command.

    Chapter 8

  3. What happened when Darwin bet young men they would not sneeze from snuff?

    Although all declared they invariably sneezed, they all took a pinch and, from wishing much to succeed, not one sneezed, though their eyes watered, and all paid the wager. Darwin uses this to show that the conscious wish to perform a reflex action can stop or interrupt it, even when the proper sensory nerves are stimulated.

    Chapter 8

  4. Why did Darwin jump back from the puff-adder despite resolving not to?

    He placed his face close to the glass with firm determination not to start back if the snake struck, but when the blow came his resolution went for nothing and he jumped a yard or two backwards. He concludes will and reason were powerless against the imagination of a danger never experienced, noting such starts depend on vividness of imagination and the nervous system's condition.

    Chapter 8

Section 93 cards
  1. According to Darwin, how did reflex actions like sneezing and coughing originate?

    The author argues that some actions first performed consciously became reflex actions through habit and association, now so fixed and inherited that they occur even when useless. Sneezing and coughing probably began as habits of violently expelling irritants from air-passages, and ample time existed for them to become innate since they are shared by most higher quadrupeds.

    Chapter 9

  2. What did Darwin observe about his infant winking at sudden sounds?

    Though grown persons always wink when startled by a sudden noise, Darwin's infants under a fortnight old started but did not always wink, and he believed never did. At 114 days, a shaken pasteboard box caused no wink, but rattling comfits inside made the child blink violently and start, showing the response need not be learned by the individual.

    Chapter 9

  3. Why does Darwin think the headless frog's wiping movements were once voluntary?

    Darwin argues it is scarcely credible that the well-coordinated movements of a headless frog wiping acid from its thigh were not first performed voluntarily, then made easy through long-continued habit until performed unconsciously, independently of the cerebral hemispheres. He uses this to support the broader claim that some reflex actions originated in conscious, purposeful action.

    Chapter 9

Section 104 cards
  1. Why do pointers and setters crouch when approaching prey, according to Darwin?

    Darwin says carnivorous animals lower their heads and crouch as they crawl toward prey, partly to hide themselves and partly to prepare for a rush or spring. This habit, in an exaggerated form, has become hereditary in pointers and setters. He notes dogs do the same on an open road at a great distance, and may hold one foreleg doubled up even when only listening to a sound.

    Chapter 10

  2. What does Darwin conclude from dogs' backward scratching after excreting?

    Dogs often scratch backward with all four feet after excreting, even on bare stone, as if covering it with earth, much as cats do. Wolves and jackals do the same in the Zoological Gardens, yet keepers assured Darwin that wolves, jackals, and foxes never actually cover their excrement when they can. Since these animals do bury superfluous food, Darwin treats the scratching as a purposeless remnant of a habit once useful to a remote progenitor.

    Chapter 10

  3. How does Darwin explain a terrier rolling on biscuit or carrion?

    Dogs and jackals take pleasure in rolling on carrion, whose odour seems delightful though dogs do not eat it. Darwin's terrier, when not hungry, tossed and worried a piece of brown biscuit as if it were prey, then rolled on it as if it were carrion, and finally ate it. Darwin suggests an imaginary relish must be given to a distasteful morsel, the dog acting as if the biscuit were alive or smelt of carrion.

    Chapter 10

  4. What examples show habitual movements falsely excited in cats and horses?

    Darwin reports his grandfather saw a kitten scrape ashes over spilled water, an instinctive action falsely excited by eyesight. A kitten shook its feet when water was poured into a glass nearby, a habit excited by associated sound rather than touch. Horses eager for corn paw the ground, which Darwin says is almost a true expression since pawing is universally recognized as a sign of eagerness.

    Chapter 10

Section 114 cards
  1. According to the chapter, what did a French report claim solely excites sucking in puppies?

    The chapter reports it was recently stated in France that sucking is excited solely through the sense of smell, so a puppy whose olfactory nerves are destroyed never sucks. Darwin also notes sucking and fore-foot protrusion are reflex actions, performed even in puppies whose front brain has been removed, when a milk-moistened finger is placed in the mouth.

    Chapter 11

  2. What did an observer find first taught artificially hatched chickens to peck at food?

    With chickens hatched by artificial heat, a good observer found that making a noise with the finger-nail against a board, imitating the hen-mother, first taught them to peck at their meat. Darwin uses this to suggest the chicken's power of picking up food seems started into action through the sense of hearing, paralleling the claimed role of smell in sucking.

    Chapter 11

  3. How do Sheldrakes, Flamingos, and Kagus express hunger, according to the chapter?

    The Sheldrake feeds on sands uncovered by the tide and pats the ground with its feet, dancing over a worm-cast hole to make the worm surface. Mr. St. John observed tame Sheldrakes patting the ground impatiently and rapidly when asking for food; Mr. Bartlett reports Flamingos and Kagus beat the ground similarly when anxious to be fed. Darwin treats this as almost their expression of hunger.

    Chapter 11

  4. What is Darwin's principle of antithesis as stated in this chapter?

    Darwin argues that when a state of mind leads to habitual movements primarily or still of service, a directly opposite state of mind induces a strong, involuntary tendency toward directly opposite movements, though these have never been of any service. He illustrates with the dog: hostile bearing (stiff, upright, erect tail, bristled hair) reverses instantly into crouching, tail-wagging, smooth hair, and lowered ears on seeing its master.

    Chapter 11

Section 134 cards
  1. What principle does Darwin propose to explain expressions of antithesis?

    The author argues that opposite movements arise from habit and association, not conscious intent: because opposite willed movements habitually use opposite muscles, when one action is firmly linked to an emotion, a directly opposite action may be unconsciously performed under an opposite emotion, even if useless. He claims this principle alone explains antithesis gestures, and that such movements can become hereditary through long practice.

    Chapter 13

  2. Why does Darwin doubt dogs and cats consciously design antithetical expressions?

    The author argues it is incredible that dogs deliberately drew back and depressed their ears, or lowered and wagged their tails, because they knew these opposed savage movements. Likewise he doubts a cat's progenitor consciously arched its back and raised its tail to contrast with a crouching, tail-curling, ear-depressing fighting attitude, or that his dog knew the dejected 'hot-house face' would soften Darwin's heart.

    Chapter 13

  3. What is Darwin's third principle of expression?

    The author states that certain expressive actions are the direct result of the nervous system's constitution, independent of will and largely of habit. When the sensorium is strongly excited, nerve-force is generated in excess and transmitted along paths depending on nerve-cell connections and habitual movements, or the supply may be interrupted. He calls the subject obscure but important, and says it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance.

    Chapter 13

  4. What does Darwin say about trembling as an expression?

    Trembling occurs in man and many lower animals, is of no service and often harmful, and cannot have been acquired by will then habit. It is excited by diverse causes: cold, fever, blood-poisoning, old age, fatigue, burns, and especially fear, but also anger and joy. Paget calls it obscure. Darwin notes young children convulse rather than tremble, and suggests strong excitement interrupts the steady flow of nerve-force to muscles.

    Chapter 13

Section 144 cards
  1. According to Claude Bernard, what mutual action occurs when the heart is affected?

    Claude Bernard insists that when the heart is affected it reacts on the brain, and the brain's state then reacts back through the pneumo-gastric nerve on the heart. Thus under any excitement there is much mutual action and reaction between these two organs, which Darwin calls the two most important organs of the body.

    Chapter 14

  2. How does Herbert Spencer say excess nerve-force is expended?

    Spencer maintains that an overflow of nerve-force, undirected by any motive, takes the most habitual routes first, then less habitual ones. So facial and respiratory muscles act first, then upper extremities, then lower, then the whole body. He also calls it an unquestionable truth that liberated nerve-force must expend itself somewhere, generating an equivalent manifestation of force.

    Chapter 14

  3. What signs does Darwin describe in animals suffering agony of pain?

    Darwin says animals in agony generally writhe with frightful contortions, and those that habitually use their voices utter piercing cries or groans, with almost every muscle strongly active. He cites a cow grinding its molars from bowel inflammation and a female hippopotamus in the Zoological Gardens clattering her teeth during a difficult birth. In severe prolonged agony, prostration, fainting, or convulsions follow.

    Chapter 14

  4. Why does great pain produce violent movements and outcries, per Darwin?

    Darwin argues great pain has urged animals over endless generations to make violent, diversified efforts to escape suffering, establishing a habit of exerting all muscles. Chest and vocal muscles, being habitually used, are especially liable to act, producing screams. Outcries also serve advantage: the young of most animals call loudly to parents for aid, as do members of the same community for mutual aid.

    Chapter 14

Section 154 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what three factors concur to produce violent movements under extreme suffering?

    Darwin argues that three factors concur: the undirected radiation of nerve-force from the first-affected nerve-cells, the long-continued habit of attempting to escape suffering by struggling, and the consciousness that voluntary muscular exertion relieves pain. Together these give a tendency to the most violent, almost convulsive movements under extreme suffering, including movements of the vocal organs, which are universally recognized as highly expressive of this condition.

    Chapter 15

  2. What signs does Darwin list as characteristic symptoms of rage?

    Darwin lists accelerated or disturbed heart action; a red, purple, or deadly pale face; laboured respiration with heaving chest and quivering dilated nostrils; trembling of the whole body; an affected voice; clenched or ground teeth; and muscular action stimulated to violent, almost frantic exertion. He notes these gestures usually differ from the purposeless writhings of pain, since they more or less plainly represent the act of striking or fighting an enemy.

    Chapter 15

  3. Why does Darwin say the heart is especially affected by habit during rage?

    Darwin argues the heart is affected both directly and through habit, all the more because it is not under the control of the will. Since any great voluntary exertion affects the heart, and nerve-force flows readily through habitually used channels, a sensation or emotion like rage that has habitually led to muscular action will influence the flow of nerve-force to the heart even without exertion. A man may command his body but cannot stop his heart beating rapidly.

    Chapter 15

  4. According to Darwin, when is purposeless movement most likely under joy?

    Darwin argues that it is chiefly the anticipation of a pleasure, not its actual enjoyment, that leads to purposeless, extravagant body movements and sounds. He cites children expecting a treat, and dogs bounding at the sight of food who show no outward delight once they get it, not even wagging their tails. He attributes this mainly to the excited sensorium and Herbert Spencer's undirected overflow of nerve-force, with pleasure long associated with active movement.

    Chapter 15

Section 164 cards
  1. What physical symptoms does Darwin say terror causes in animals?

    Darwin states that terror causes trembling, pale skin, sweating, bristling hair, increased secretions of the alimentary canal and kidneys (involuntarily voided due to sphincter relaxation), hurried breathing, and rapid, violent heartbeats. He notes the surface seems bloodless and muscular strength soon fails. He observed these symptoms in cattle, dogs, cats, monkeys, and even birds, including a canary and a robin that fainted.

    Chapter 16

  2. How does Darwin explain the symptoms of extreme terror?

    Darwin suggests most symptoms probably result directly from the disturbed state of the sensorium, independent of habit. However, he argues it is doubtful they should be wholly accounted for this way. He proposes the principle of associated habit may partly account for or augment some symptoms: alarmed animals first stand motionless, then flee headlong without husbanding strength until prostration, failing respiration and circulation, quivering muscles, and profuse sweating make further flight impossible.

    Chapter 16

  3. Why does Darwin contrast maternal love with anger and romantic love?

    Darwin argues maternal love, though the strongest emotion, may show no outward sign because it does not ordinarily require voluntary movement for relief or gratification. But if someone injures her infant, anger takes over—an emotion habitually leading to action—producing sparkling eyes, reddened face, heaving bosom, dilated nostrils, and rapid heartbeat. Similarly, lovers' hearts beat quickly and faces flush because romantic love is active, unlike maternal love.

    Chapter 16

  4. How does Darwin classify emotions as exciting or depressing, and what examples support this?

    Darwin describes excitement as when bodily and mental organs function more energetically and rapidly than usual, and depression as the opposite. Anger and joy are initially exciting and lead to energetic movements. He reports a physician's remark that an exhausted man may invent imaginary offences to work himself into a passion, unconsciously to reinvigorate himself. Fear is the most depressing emotion but often acts first as a powerful stimulant, giving desperate men and animals wonderful strength.

    Chapter 16

Section 174 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what first gave rise to the emission of vocal sounds?

    Darwin suggests that involuntary and purposeless contractions of the muscles of the chest and glottis, excited when the sensorium is strongly excited, may have first given rise to vocal sounds. The voice is now widely used for many purposes, and habit has played an important part in its employment under other circumstances.

    Chapter 17

  2. Why does Darwin think social animals use their voices more freely than solitary ones?

    Naturalists have remarked, and Darwin believes with truth, that social animals, from habitually using their vocal organs for intercommunication, use them on other occasions much more freely than other animals. He notes marked exceptions, such as the rabbit. Association also plays a part, so the voice is used whenever similar sensations or emotions are excited.

    Chapter 17

  3. What evidence does Darwin give that animals use vocal sounds to strike terror?

    Darwin infers that animals like the lion and dog aim to strike terror because they simultaneously erect their hair—the lion its mane, the dog the hair along its back—making themselves appear as large and terrible as possible. Rival males also challenge each other by voice, leading to deadly contests, associating voice with anger.

    Chapter 17

  4. What does Darwin conclude about explaining why different sounds accompany different emotions?

    Darwin calls this a very obscure subject and doubts any precise explanation of the cause or source of each particular sound will ever be given. The rule does not always hold: a dog's bark of anger and of joy differ little, though distinguishable. He notes domesticated animals, like dogs and tamed jackals, learned to bark.

    Chapter 17

Section 184 cards
  1. What does Darwin claim about the origin of musical sounds in human ancestors?

    The author argues that the habit of uttering musical sounds was first developed as a means of courtship in the early progenitors of man, becoming associated with strong emotions like ardent love, rivalry, and triumph. He infers they probably uttered musical tones before acquiring articulate speech, so under strong emotion the voice tends to assume a musical character through association.

    Chapter 18

  2. According to Darwin, how does pitch of voice relate to states of feeling?

    Darwin says it is tolerably clear that pitch bears some relation to feeling: a person gently complaining or slightly suffering almost always speaks in a high-pitched voice, and dogs when impatient make a high piping note that strikes us as plaintive. He notes the difficulty of knowing whether the sound is essentially plaintive or only seems so from experience.

    Chapter 18

  3. What did Rengger report about the emotional vocalizations of Cebus azarae monkeys?

    Rengger states that the monkeys he kept in Paraguay expressed astonishment by a half-piping, half-snarling noise; anger or impatience by repeating the sound hu hu in a deeper, grunting voice; and fright or pain by shrill screams. Darwin contrasts this with mankind, where deep groans and high piercing screams equally express agony of pain.

    Chapter 18

  4. What does Mr. Litchfield say musical expression depends on?

    Litchfield says the purely musical effect of a sound depends on its place in a scale, not on loudness or absolute pitch; a tune is the same whether sung loudly or softly, by child or man, on flute or trombone. He notes the effect also partly depends on the muscular action producing the sounds, but why certain sound associations have their effects remains unsolved.

    Chapter 18

Section 194 cards
  1. Why does Darwin think high, loud screams suit calls for assistance?

    Darwin argues a scream from a young animal or community member calling for help is naturally loud, prolonged, and high so it penetrates to a distance. He cites Helmholtz, who showed that the shape of the human ear's internal cavity and its resonance give high notes a particularly strong impression.

    Chapter 19

  2. Does Darwin find the principle of antithesis applies to sounds?

    Darwin considers it doubtful. He notes pleased laughing or tittering in man and monkeys differs greatly from prolonged distress screams, and a pig's grunt of satisfaction differs from its scream of pain. But the dog's bark of anger and bark of joy are not opposed, and so it is in some other cases.

    Chapter 19

  3. How does Darwin explain the sounds Oh! and Ah! after surprise?

    Darwin argues that sudden astonishment brings an urge to open the mouth widely for deep, rapid inspiration, ready for exertion. The following expiration with slightly closed, protruded lips produces the vowel O, per Helmholtz; if pain accompanies surprise, facial muscles contract and lips draw back, making the sound higher, like Ah! or Ach!

    Chapter 19

  4. Why do porcupines rattle their hollow tail quills?

    Darwin suggests the rattling warns enemies in the dark. Porcupines are nocturnal, and if they scented or heard a prowling beast, it would advantage them to signal what they were and that they bore dangerous spines, thus escaping attack. The short, hollow, open-ended tail quills strike each other when the tail is shaken.

    Chapter 19

Section 204 cards
  1. What does Darwin report about hair erection in monkeys and apes?

    Darwin reports that Chimpanzees and Orangutans' hair becomes erect when suddenly frightened or angered, and he saw a chimpanzee's hair rise all over its body when alarmed by a black coalheaver. The Gorilla's crest is described as erect when enraged, and an Anubis baboon's hair bristled along the back when angered. A stuffed snake made several monkey species' hair, especially on the tails, instantly erect.

    Chapter 20

  2. How does hair erection differ between cats and dogs according to Darwin?

    Darwin states that with the cat, hair erection apparently occurs only under fear, while with the dog it occurs under both anger and fear—but not under abject fear, as when a dog is about to be flogged by a gamekeeper. If the dog shows fight, its hair rises. Darwin often noticed a dog's hair particularly liable to rise when half angry and half afraid, as at an indistinct object in the dusk.

    Chapter 20

  3. What does Mr. Weir conclude about feather erection in birds?

    Mr. Weir concludes from large experience that feather erection is caused much more by anger than by fear. He notes that frightened birds generally press their feathers closely to the body, shrinking in size, and shake them out upon recovering. He cites an irascible hybrid goldfinch that ruffled into a ball when approached. Darwin adds that young cuckoos and hens with chicks likely feel some terror despite anger being the chief cause.

    Chapter 20

  4. What evidence suggests feather erection is not defensive in fighting cocks?

    Darwin notes that cock-fighters have found by experience it is advantageous to trim the neck-hackles, so the erected feathers cannot serve as a means of defence. Mr. Tegetmeier also told Darwin that in game-cocks, erection of the feathers on the head has long been recognized in the cock-pit as a sign of cowardice—complicating any simple interpretation of the display.

    Chapter 20

Section 214 cards
  1. What muscles cause erection of hair and feathers, and what is their action?

    According to Kölliker's discovery, minute unstriped involuntary muscles called arrectores pili, attached to the capsules of separate hairs and feathers, contract to erect them instantly, drawing them slightly out of their sockets before quickly depressing them. Darwin notes the vast number of these muscles over a hairy quadruped's body is astonishing, and erection may also be aided by voluntary striped muscles of the panniculus carnosus.

    Chapter 21

  2. Besides anger and fear, what other stimuli cause the arrectores pili to contract?

    Darwin states the arrectores pili contract not only under emotions but also from cold applied to the surface, as when his mules and dogs from a warmer country spent a bleak night on the Cordillera with hair erect as under terror. Goose-skin before a fever-fit shows the same action, and Mr. Lister found tickling a neighboring part of the skin causes hairs to erect and protrude.

    Chapter 21

  3. What difficulty does Darwin identify about coordinating involuntary arrectores pili with voluntary muscles?

    Darwin asks how contraction of unstriped involuntary arrectores pili could be coordinated with voluntary muscles for the same purpose of making the animal appear larger. He considers whether arrectores were primordially voluntary and later lost their stripes, but says he is unaware of evidence for this view, though the reversed transition would not have presented great difficulty.

    Chapter 21

  4. What secondary advantage does body inflation give frogs seized by snakes?

    Darwin says that when frogs are seized by snakes, their chief enemies, they enlarge themselves wonderfully by inhaling air. If the snake is small, Dr. Günther informed Darwin, it cannot swallow the frog, which thus escapes being devoured. The primary purpose was probably to appear large and frightful to an enemy, with this escape as a perhaps more important secondary advantage.

    Chapter 21

Section 224 cards
  1. Why does Darwin believe puff-adders inflate themselves when irritated?

    Darwin argues, after carefully watching these animals, that puff-adders do not inflate to increase their apparent bulk. Instead, they inflate simply to inhale a large supply of air, enabling them to produce their surprisingly loud, harsh, and prolonged hissing sound.

    Chapter 22

  2. How does the Cobra-de-capello enlarge itself when irritated?

    The Cobra-de-capello enlarges itself a little and hisses moderately when irritated. At the same time it lifts its head aloft and dilates the skin on each side of the neck into a large flat disk, the so-called hood, using its elongated anterior ribs. With its widely opened mouth it then assumes a terrific aspect.

    Chapter 22

  3. What purpose does Darwin assign to snakes' hissing, rattling, and hood dilation?

    Darwin concludes that the hissing of many snakes, the rattling of the rattle-snake and of the Trigonocephalus's tail, the grating of the Echis's scales, and the dilatation of the Cobra's hood all subserve the same end: to make the snakes appear terrible to their enemies. He infers this from the threatening gestures many snakes make at the same time.

    Chapter 22

  4. How does Darwin explain the probable development of the rattle-snake's rattle?

    Darwin supposes an ancient American species had an enlarged tail tip covered by a single large scale that was not cast off at moults. Each growth period added a new larger scale above it, also retained, laying the foundation for a rattle, habitually used if the species vibrated its tail when irritated. He notes the tail vertebrae are altered in shape and cohere.

    Chapter 22

Section 234 cards
  1. Why do animals that fight with their teeth draw back and press their ears to the head?

    Darwin argues this position protects the ears from being seized by an antagonist in biting fights. Through habit and association, the movement appears whenever such animals feel slightly savage or pretend savagery in play. He infers this from the relation between manner of fighting and ear retraction across many animals, and notes it differs from the ears' position when a dog is pleased.

    Chapter 23

  2. Which animals Darwin says do NOT draw back their ears when enraged, and why?

    Cattle, sheep, and goats never use their teeth in fighting and never draw back their ears when enraged. Kangaroos fight by scratching and kicking, never bite, and keepers never saw them retract their ears in anger. Elephants fight with tusks and erect rather than retract their ears. Rhinoceros keepers are convinced they do not draw back their ears like horses and dogs.

    Chapter 23

  3. What exception do some monkeys show regarding ear retraction, according to Darwin?

    Some monkeys with moveable ears that fight with their teeth, such as Cercopithecus ruber, draw back their ears when irritated like dogs. Others, like Inuus ecaudatus, apparently do not. Darwin calls a great anomaly the fact that some species, including two or three Macacus and Cynopithecus niger, retract their ears, show their teeth, and jabber when pleased by caressing, an expression unfamiliar observers would not recognize as pleasure.

    Chapter 23

  4. Why do animals with freely moveable ears erect them, and what does this express?

    Darwin states that animals able to move their ears freely direct them toward whatever they are looking at when startled or closely observing an object, so as to hear any sound from that quarter. They generally raise their heads, and some smaller animals rise on their hind-legs. Raised head, erected ears, and forward-directed eyes give an unmistakable expression of close attention.

    Chapter 23

Section 244 cards
  1. How does Darwin explain the stiff gait of an angry dog?

    Darwin attributes the stiff gait to the principle of associated habit: anger has continually led to fierce struggles, so all the body's muscles have been violently exerted. He also suspects the muscular system needs some short preparation or innervation before strong action, an inference from his own sensations that he notes physiologists do not generally admit, though Sir J. Paget told him unprepared violent contraction risks rupture.

    Chapter 24

  2. What movements does a dog show when affectionately greeting its master?

    The head and whole body are lowered and thrown into flexuous movements, the tail extended and wagged side to side, ears fall down and drawn somewhat backwards, elongating the eyelids and altering the face; lips hang loosely and hair stays smooth. Darwin argues these gestures stand in complete antithesis to those of a savage dog in the opposite state of mind. A mere slight wag of the tail can remain when a man just notices his dog.

    Chapter 24

  3. How does Darwin account for dogs licking their masters' hands or faces?

    Darwin suggests the habit probably originated in females carefully licking their puppies, the dearest object of their love, for cleansing; they also give cursory licks after a short absence, apparently from affection. Thus the habit became associated with the emotion of love and is now so firmly inherited or innate that it is transmitted equally to both sexes. He cites a female terrier whose puppies were destroyed and who licked his hands with insatiable passion.

    Chapter 24

  4. What does Darwin say about a dog's affection being combined with submission?

    Darwin states that a dog's affection toward his master is combined with a strong sense of submission akin to fear. Hence dogs lower their bodies and crouch a little as they approach, and sometimes throw themselves on the ground with bellies upwards, a movement completely opposite to any show of resistance. He describes a large dog of his who did this before a shepherd-dog, seeming to say, 'Behold, I am your slave.'

    Chapter 24

Section 254 cards
  1. How does Darwin explain the dog's grin of affection?

    Darwin suspects the grin arises by habit and association: dogs at play almost always pretend to bite each other or their masters' hands, retracting lips and ears. So when lively pleasure combines with affection, the same muscles tend to act. The upper lip is retracted as in snarling, exposing the canines, and the ears are drawn back, yet the animal clearly shows no anger.

    Chapter 25

  2. What signs show attention in a dog, according to the chapter?

    Attention is shown by the head raised, ears erected, and eyes intently fixed on the object or sound. If the source of a sound is unknown, the head is often turned obliquely from side to side, apparently to judge the direction more exactly. Darwin also notes that when watching something, dogs often lift one paw and keep it doubled up, as if preparing a slow, stealthy approach.

    Chapter 25

  3. How is fear expressed in a dog, even in slight degree?

    Even a very slight degree of fear is invariably shown by the tail being tucked between the legs, with ears drawn backwards—not pressed closely to the head as in snarling, nor lowered as when pleased. Extreme terror brings throwing down, howling, voiding excretions, trembling, and rapid heartbeat. Darwin believes the hair does not become erect unless some anger is also felt.

    Chapter 25

  4. Why does a running dog tuck its tail, per Darwin?

    Darwin argues that when a dog is chased, or in danger of being struck behind or of something falling on him, he wishes to withdraw his whole hind-quarters quickly. From some sympathy or connection between the muscles, the tail is then drawn closely inwards. He notes the same linked movement in fighting hyaenas, deer, horses, and donkeys, and the reverse when an animal trots with tail aloft.

    Chapter 25

Section 264 cards
  1. Which dog expressive movements does Darwin say are innate and shared with wolves and jackals?

    Darwin states that almost all the expressive movements described, except grinning from joy, are innate or instinctive, being common to all individuals of all breeds, young and old. Most are likewise common to the dog's aboriginal parents, the wolf and jackal, and some to other species of the same group. Tamed wolves and jackals when caressed jump about, wag tails, lower ears, lick hands, crouch, and roll belly upwards.

    Chapter 26

  2. How do foxes differ from dogs in expressive movements, according to Darwin?

    Darwin corrects the claim that tame foxes never show these movements: he observed a tame English fox wag its tail, depress its ears, and throw itself belly upwards when caressed, and a black North American fox slightly depressed its ears. But he believes foxes never lick their masters' hands, and was assured that when frightened they never tuck in their tails, unlike wolves and jackals.

    Chapter 26

  3. How does Darwin explain a cat's crouching, tail-lashing posture when savage?

    The cat crouches and may protrude fore-feet with claws exserted, tail extended and lashed, ears drawn back, teeth shown, with low growls; the hair is not erected in Darwin's observations. He explains the crouch by the cat's use of fore-feet for striking and its habit of lying concealed before springing. He assigns no certain cause for the tail-lashing, suggesting nerve-force released under excitement seeks movement in the free tail.

    Chapter 26

  4. Why does Darwin think a terrified cat arches its back and erects its hair?

    Darwin finds all the terrified cat's expressions intelligible except the extreme arching of the back. He is inclined to believe that, like birds ruffling feathers and spreading wings and tail to look big, cats stand at full height, arch their backs, raise the tail's base, and erect their hair for the same purpose. He notes keepers have never seen this tendency in tigers, lions, and other large felines.

    Chapter 26

Section 274 cards
  1. Why does Darwin say a horse's nostril dilation during terror is not for scenting danger?

    Darwin argues the distension is not for scenting danger, since a horse smelling an object carefully without alarm does not dilate its nostrils. Because a valve in the throat means a panting horse breathes through its nostrils rather than its open mouth, the nostrils have great powers of expansion. This expansion, snorting, and heart palpitations became firmly associated over generations with terror, which habitually led the horse to violent exertion in dashing away from danger.

    Chapter 27

  2. How do cattle and sheep differ from deer in displaying emotion, according to Darwin?

    Darwin says cattle and sheep are remarkable for displaying their emotions or sensations in only a slight degree, except extreme pain. An enraged bull shows rage only by lowered head, distended nostrils, and bellowing, and its pawing may just drive off flies. Some deer, when savage, draw back their ears, grind teeth, erect hair, squeal, stamp, and brandish horns, displaying far more expression.

    Chapter 27

  3. What does Darwin say about the uniformity of emotional expression across human races, and why does it matter?

    Darwin says monkeys express feelings in many different ways, which bears on whether so-called races of man should be ranked as distinct species or varieties. He notes that, as shown in following chapters, the different races of man express emotions and sensations with remarkable uniformity throughout the world. The contrast with variable monkey expression is offered as relevant to that classification question.

    Chapter 27

  4. How do young chimpanzees and orangs express pleasure when tickled, and how does this differ from human laughter?

    Young chimpanzees utter a chuckling or laughing sound when tickled, especially in the sensitive armpits; the corners of the mouth are drawn backwards, sometimes slightly wrinkling the lower eyelids, and their eyes sparkle. Unlike humans, the upper teeth are not exposed when they make the laughing noise. Young orangs likewise grin and chuckle, and a smile-like expression follows laughter.

    Chapter 27

Section 284 cards
  1. How does the Anubis baboon express pleasure after reconciliation?

    After being enraged by his keeper and then reconciled with a handshake, the baboon rapidly moved his jaws and lips up and down and looked pleased. Darwin compares this to the jaw quiver seen in hearty human laughter, noting that in man the chest muscles are more affected, while in this baboon and some other monkeys the jaw and lip muscles are spasmodically affected.

    Chapter 28

  2. Why is Cynopithecus niger's pleasure expression hard for strangers to recognize?

    When pleased by caressing, Cynopithecus niger draws back its ears, utters a slight jabbering noise, and draws the corners of the mouth backwards and upwards so the teeth are exposed. The forehead crest is depressed, the skin of the head drawn back, eyebrows raised, and eyes staring. Because these movements resemble anger, a stranger would never recognize the expression as pleasure.

    Chapter 28

  3. What evidence does Darwin give for weeping in monkeys, and what complication?

    A woman who sold a Macacus maurus believed to be from Borneo said it often cried, and Mr. Bartlett and keeper Mr. Sutton repeatedly saw it weep copiously when grieved or pitied. However, two later specimens of the same species never wept, though carefully observed when distressed and screaming. Rengger and Humboldt also report tears in other species, which Darwin does not doubt.

    Chapter 28

  4. How do baboons threaten each other, according to Bartlett and Darwin?

    Baboons often open their mouths widely as in yawning to threaten enemies. Bartlett saw two newly paired baboons sit opposite each other alternately opening their mouths, often ending in a real yawn, and believed they were displaying formidable teeth. Darwin was skeptical until Bartlett insulted an old baboon into a passion and it almost immediately performed the gesture. Some Macacus and Cercopithecus species do the same.

    Chapter 28

Section 294 cards
  1. How did young orangs and chimpanzees react to a mirror in Darwin's experiment?

    Darwin placed a looking-glass before two young orangs that had never seen one. They first stared with steady surprise, changing their viewpoint, then approached and protruded their lips toward the image as if to kiss it, as they had done to each other. They made grimaces and postures, pressed and rubbed the surface, looked behind it, and finally seemed almost frightened, became cross, and refused to look longer.

    Chapter 29

  2. According to Darwin, why are orang and chimpanzee faces less expressive than human faces?

    The author argues their faces are inexpressive chiefly because they do not frown under any emotion, as far as he could observe. He notes their immovable ears and naked eyebrows also reduce conspicuousness of expression. He tested this by caging fruit, exposing them to bright sunshine, and tickling a chimpanzee's nose; only once did he see a very slight frown, and never on an orang.

    Chapter 29

  3. How did monkeys respond to a turtle versus a snake in Darwin's account?

    Monkeys showed unbounded astonishment and some fear at a freshwater turtle: remaining motionless, staring with widely opened eyes, eyebrows moving up and down, faces somewhat lengthened, occasionally raising themselves on hind-legs, and retreating to stare over one shoulder. They were much less afraid of the turtle than of a living snake; within minutes some approached and touched the turtle, though some larger baboons were greatly terrified and grinned.

    Chapter 29

  4. What physical signs did the gorilla show when enraged, and what scalp movement was noted?

    The gorilla when enraged is described as erecting its crest of hair, throwing down its under lip, dilating its nostrils, and uttering terrific yells. Messrs. Savage and Wyman state the scalp can be freely moved backwards and forwards and is strongly contracted when excited, presumably lowered. Darwin links this scalp mobility in gorillas and baboons to the rare human ability to move the scalp voluntarily.

    Chapter 29

Section 304 cards
  1. How do monkeys differ from humans in expressing astonishment, according to Darwin?

    Darwin reports that no monkey kept its mouth open when astonished; Mr. Sutton observed a young orang and chimpanzee and found they did not open their mouths even when astonished or listening intently. Darwin notes this is surprising since a widely open mouth is nearly the most general human expression of astonishment. He suggests monkeys breathe more freely through their nostrils, which may explain the difference.

    Chapter 30

  2. How do many monkeys express terror, according to the chapter?

    Terror is expressed by shrill screams with the lips drawn back so the teeth are exposed. The hair becomes erect, especially when some anger is also felt. Mr. Sutton distinctly saw the face of Macacus rhesus grow pale from fear. Monkeys also tremble from fear and sometimes void their excretions; Darwin saw one which, when caught, almost fainted from excess of terror.

    Chapter 30

  3. Why does Darwin disagree with Sir C. Bell about animal facial expression?

    Darwin argues it is impossible to agree with Sir C. Bell, who said animal faces chiefly express rage and fear and that their expressions refer to acts of volition or necessary instincts. Darwin argues that anyone watching a dog preparing to attack versus caressing its master, or a monkey insulted versus fondled by its keeper, must admit their features and gestures are almost as expressive as man's.

    Chapter 30

  4. What facial changes occur in screaming infants, and what protects the eyes?

    Screaming infants firmly close their eyes, wrinkling the skin around them and contracting the forehead into a frown. The mouth is widely opened with lips retracted into a squarish form, exposing gums or teeth, and breath is inhaled almost spasmodically. Darwin says the firm closing of the eyelids and compression of the eyeball is most important, serving to protect the eyes from becoming too gorged with blood.

    Chapter 30

Section 314 cards
  1. Why does Darwin think the mouth forms a squarish outline during screaming?

    Darwin explains that the upper lip is drawn up during screaming, while the depressor muscles at the angles of the mouth contract strongly to keep the mouth wide open so a full volume of sound can emerge. The opposed action of muscles above and below gives the mouth an oblong, almost squarish outline, which he illustrates with photographs and an observer's account of a feeding baby.

    Chapter 31

  2. What did Darwin observe about the first signs of a screaming-fit in his infant?

    From his infant's eighth day onward, Darwin often observed that when a screaming-fit came on gradually, the first sign was a little frown from contraction of the brow corrugators, with the capillaries of the naked head and face reddening. Once screaming began, all muscles round the eyes contracted strongly and the mouth opened widely, so the features took the same form as at a later age.

    Chapter 31

  3. When do infants first shed tears, and how does Darwin explain the variation?

    Darwin notes infants do not weep at first; one infant's tears first ran down the cheeks at 139 days, though other children varied widely, from slight suffusion at 20 days to tears running down at 42, 84, 104, or 110 days. He suggests the lacrymal glands need practice before being easily excited, like inherited consensual movements, and that weeping was acquired after man branched from non-weeping apes.

    Chapter 31

  4. How does adult weeping differ by sex and culture, according to Darwin?

    Darwin states that with adults, especially males, weeping soon ceases to be caused by bodily pain, which he attributes to its being thought weak and unmanly by men of both civilized and barbarous races. Apart from that exception, he says savages weep copiously from slight causes, citing a New Zealand chief and a Tierra del Fuego native, and notes Englishmen rarely cry except under acute grief, while some Continental men shed tears more readily.

    Chapter 31

Section 324 cards
  1. According to the chapter, what did Dr. Browne report about weeping in melancholia?

    Dr. J. Crichton Browne informed Darwin that simple melancholia, even in men, is characterized by a tendency to weep on the slightest occasions or from no cause, and disproportionately over real grief. Some patients weep astonishingly long and copiously; one melancholic girl wept a whole day, confessing it was because she remembered once shaving off her eyebrows to promote their growth.

    Chapter 32

  2. Why does Darwin caution against attributing copious tears in the insane solely to lack of restraint?

    Darwin notes that certain brain diseases—hemiplegia, brain-wasting, and senile decay—have a special tendency to induce weeping, so copious tears in the insane cannot be laid entirely to absence of restraint. He adds that weeping is common even after complete fatuity and loss of speech, and that persons born idiotic weep, though it is said cretins do not.

    Chapter 32

  3. What is Darwin's explanation for why sobbing occurs in children?

    Darwin suggests sobbing is at least partly due to children gaining early power over their vocal organs to stop screams, but having less power over respiratory muscles, which continue acting involuntarily or spasmodically after violent action. He notes distinct sobbing in his infant at 138 days, and that keepers report no sob from any monkey, suggesting sobbing is peculiar to humans.

    Chapter 32

  4. How does Sir C. Bell explain the contraction of eye muscles during screaming?

    Sir C. Bell argues that during violent expiration—laughter, weeping, coughing, sneezing—the eyeball is compressed by the orbicularis to protect the eye's vascular system from a retrograde blood impulse. Blood is delayed in the head and neck veins and may regurgitate into minute vessels; without compression, injury could result. He notes that separating a crying child's eyelids makes the conjunctiva fill with blood.

    Chapter 32

Section 334 cards
  1. Why do the muscles around the eyes contract during violent expiration, according to Donders?

    Donders showed that during violent expiration the external, intra-ocular, and retro-ocular vessels of the eye are distended, both from increased arterial blood pressure and from impeded venous return. Contraction of the orbicular muscles and firm closure of the eyelids limit or entirely remove this dilatation, protecting the eyeball. The author concludes this closure during children's screaming is 'full of meaning and of real service.'

    Chapter 33

  2. What evidence does the chapter give that the eye can actually be injured by violent expiration?

    The author admits much evidence cannot yet be advanced, but notes some: forcible expiratory efforts in violent coughing or vomiting, especially sneezing, sometimes rupture the little external vessels of the eye. Dr. Gunning recorded a case of exophthalmos after whooping-cough, attributed to rupture of deeper vessels, with another analogous case recorded. Even discomfort or expected injury might suffice to establish the protective habit.

    Chapter 33

  3. How does the chapter connect contraction of the eye muscles to the secretion of tears?

    The author stresses that whenever the muscles round the eyes are strongly and involuntarily contracted to compress blood-vessels and protect the eyes, tears are secreted, often rolling down the cheeks—under opposite emotions and under no emotion at all. The partial exception is young infants, who scream with eyelids closed but commonly do not weep until two to three or four months, though their eyes become suffused earlier.

    Chapter 33

  4. What facial movements does the chapter derive from contraction of the orbicular muscles during crying?

    Contraction of the orbicular muscles draws up the upper lip; if the mouth is kept widely open, the depressor muscles draw down the corners. Drawing up the upper lip also produces the naso-labial fold on the cheeks. The author argues all the chief expressive movements of the face during crying apparently result from contraction of the muscles round the eyes, and tear shedding stands in some connection with the same muscles.

    Chapter 33

Section 344 cards
  1. During violent coughing or retching, what eye-muscle and tear effects does Darwin describe?

    Darwin reports that in violent coughing, especially when half-choked, the face becomes purple, veins distended, and the orbicular muscles strongly contracted with tears running down the cheeks. In violent vomiting or retching he and others observed the same strong orbicular contraction and free tear flow, and a surgeon informant confirmed this even when nothing was ejected from the stomach.

    Chapter 34

  2. What did Darwin's experiments with children show about voluntarily contracting eye muscles?

    Because children's lacrimal glands are easily excited, Darwin had his own and other children repeatedly contract the surrounding muscles with utmost force for as long as possible. This produced hardly any effect; sometimes there was slight moisture, but no more than could be accounted for by squeezing out tears already secreted in the glands. He concluded voluntary prolonged contraction does not suffice.

    Chapter 34

  3. What did Darwin observe about elephants and orbicular muscle contraction while trumpeting?

    At Mr. Bartlett's request, a keeper made an old and a young Indian elephant trumpet. Just as trumpeting began, the orbicular muscles, especially the lower ones, were distinctly contracted; on a later louder occasion both upper and lower muscles contracted strongly and equally. By contrast, the African elephant, placed by some naturalists in a distinct sub-genus, showed no trace of such contraction on two occasions.

    Chapter 34

  4. What probable explanation does Darwin offer for the link between eye-muscle contraction and tears?

    Darwin says the relation cannot be positively ascertained but suggests a probable view. Tears primarily lubricate the eye, secondarily keep nostrils damp, and importantly wash out dust; tear secretion from foreign bodies is reflex, relaxing the muscular coats of small arteries so more blood permeates the gland and induces free secretion. He notes the same arterial relaxation during an intense blush sometimes suffuses the eyes with tears.

    Chapter 34

Section 354 cards
  1. According to Darwin, how did reflex tear secretion from eye irritation originate?

    The author argues that when a primordial semi-terrestrial form got dust in its eyes, irritation radiated nerve-force to adjoining nerve-cells, stimulating the lacrymal glands. As this recurred and nerve-force passes along accustomed channels, slight irritation eventually sufficed to cause free tear secretion.

    Chapter 35

  2. Why do irritants to the nose or face also cause tears?

    Darwin notes tears flow copiously from pungent vapors, a blow on the nose, or a stinging switch on the face, even with eyelids closed. He explains that all these facial parts, including the lacrymal glands, are supplied by branches of the fifth nerve, so excitement of one branch spreads to nerve-cells of the others. Here tear secretion is incidental and of no direct service.

    Chapter 35

  3. What did Mr. Bowman report about internal eye conditions and lacrymation?

    Bowman communicated that strong light on a normal retina barely causes tears, but in unhealthy children with old corneal ulcers, daylight causes forcible lid closure and profuse tears. Straining waning accommodation often produces undue tear secretion. Hard eyeballs usually show no lacrymation, softer ones tend toward it, yet some severe inflammations cause little or none.

    Chapter 35

  4. How does Darwin explain tears during screaming-fits and violent expiratory efforts?

    Darwin proposes two combined causes: spasmodic eyelid contraction pressing on the eyeball, and increased arterial pressure with impeded venous return distending ocular vessels during expiration. Through inheritance over numberless generations and habit, moderate compression and distension would act on the glands. He admits it hardly seems credible that pressure alone suffices in many cases.

    Chapter 35

Section 364 cards
  1. According to Darwin, why do tears persist when screaming is restrained?

    The author argues that when the habit of crying out or screaming is restrained with age or advancing culture, there is no distension of the eye's blood-vessels, yet tears may still be secreted. Glands are remarkably free from the will's influence, so nerve-cells still send force to the lacrymal glands through long-associated habit, betraying pathetic thoughts.

    Chapter 36

  2. What chain of events does Darwin propose as the origin of weeping?

    Darwin sums up that children cry out loudly when suffering, partly as a call for aid. Prolonged screaming gorges the eye's blood-vessels, leading to contraction of the muscles around the eyes for protection. Spasmodic pressure and vessel distension then affect the lacrymal glands through reflex action, and habit, association, and differing will-control make suffering cause tears alone.

    Chapter 36

  3. How does Darwin describe the bodily appearance of prolonged grief?

    In prolonged, mitigated grief, persons remain motionless and passive, sometimes rocking to and fro. Circulation becomes languid, the face pale, muscles flaccid, eyelids droop, and the head hangs. Lips, cheeks, and lower jaw sink from their own weight, lengthening all the features. Eyes grow dull, often slightly suffused with tears, eyebrows become oblique, and mouth corners drawn down.

    Chapter 36

  4. What does Darwin say about tears as a sign of happiness?

    Darwin suggests that if infants had laughed as often and continuously as they screamed, tears might in later life be as copiously secreted in happiness as in distress. He notes an evident tendency in this direction, and that Freycinet reported Sandwich Islanders recognize tears as a sign of happiness, but says better evidence is needed than a passing voyager's.

    Chapter 36

Section 374 cards
  1. Which muscles produce the oblique eyebrows of grief, and how do they interact?

    Darwin says the orbiculars, corrugators, and pyramidals of the nose tend to lower and contract the eyebrows, but their action is partly checked by the more powerful central fasciæ of the frontal muscle. These raise only the inner ends of the eyebrows, while the corrugators draw the brows together, puckering the inner ends into a characteristic fold or lump.

    Chapter 37

  2. What forehead furrows does the grief expression produce, and why are they shaped that way?

    Because only the middle fasciæ of the frontal muscle contract, transverse furrows form across the middle of the forehead alone. The outer orbicular portions pull the skin over the outer eyebrows down and smooth, while the corrugators create vertical furrows. Together these form a mark compared to a horse-shoe, though Darwin says the furrows more strictly form three sides of a quadrangle.

    Chapter 37

  3. How readily is the grief expression recognized, and what does Darwin say about its depiction in fiction?

    Darwin reports that of fifteen persons shown a photograph of simulated grief without any clue, fourteen immediately answered with phrases like "despairing sorrow" or "melancholy." Yet he notes almost no one who has not studied the subject can say precisely what facial change occurs. He says the expression is scarcely alluded to in fiction, naming only 'Red Gauntlet' and one other novel.

    Chapter 37

  4. What does Darwin claim about heredity and the use of the grief-muscles?

    Darwin argues the power to bring the grief-muscles freely into play appears hereditary, like almost every other human faculty. He cites a lady from a family famous for producing actors and actresses who said all her family possessed the power remarkably. He also reports the grief-muscles are used more frequently by children and women than by men, and rarely from bodily pain.

    Chapter 37

Section 384 cards
  1. What anatomical error does Duchenne say Greek sculptors made with forehead furrows?

    Duchenne notes that the ancient Greek sculptors, as in the Laocoön and Arretino, carried the transverse furrows across the whole breadth of the forehead, which Darwin calls a great anatomical mistake. Darwin, however, thinks it more probable that these accurate observers intentionally sacrificed truth for beauty, since rectangular furrows would not look grand on marble. Some modern statues repeat the same pattern.

    Chapter 38

  2. How did the grief-muscles appear in Dr. Browne's hypochondria patients?

    Dr. Crichton Browne observed three hypochondria cases in which the grief-muscles were persistently contracted. One widow, aged 51, believed she had lost all her viscera and beat her semi-closed hands rhythmically; her grief-muscles were permanently contracted and upper eyelids arched for months until she recovered. A second case was similar, with the addition that the corners of the mouth were depressed.

    Chapter 38

  3. What did Darwin observe when a young lady could not talk fast enough?

    Darwin watched a young lady and a youth talking with extraordinary rapidity. Each time she was beaten and could not get her words out fast enough, her eyebrows went obliquely upwards and rectangular furrows formed on her forehead, like a flag of distress, half a dozen times in minutes. Later she tried repeatedly to act on her grief-muscles voluntarily and utterly failed.

    Chapter 38

  4. Which non-European races did Darwin receive trustworthy accounts of the grief expression from?

    Darwin states the grief expression is by no means confined to Europeans but appears common to all races of mankind. He received trustworthy accounts regarding Hindoos, Dhangars (an aboriginal hill-tribe of India, distinct from Hindoos), Malays, Negroes and Australians. Mr. Taplin appended 'this is exact' for Australians; a lady saw a Negro towing a boat on the Nile with the muscles in strong action.

    Chapter 38

Section 394 cards
  1. Why does Darwin think grief makes the eyebrows oblique?

    The author argues grief-muscles contract because infants repeatedly contracted the orbicular, corrugator, and pyramidal muscles to protect their eyes while screaming. Adults, through long habit, still send a partial order to these muscles when distressed. Since the pyramidal muscles resist the will, only the antagonistic central fasciae of the frontal muscle can check them, producing oblique eyebrows and rectangular forehead furrows.

    Chapter 39

  2. What did Darwin's three children show when looking at a bright sky?

    Darwin had three children gaze at a treetop against a bright sky. All three energetically contracted the orbicular, corrugator, and pyramidal muscles by reflex to protect their eyes from the light. As they tried to look upward, a spasmodic struggle appeared between the frontal muscle and the eyebrow-lowering muscles. Two children developed rectangular middle-forehead furrows and oblique eyebrows, exactly as under grief or anxiety.

    Chapter 39

  3. What did Darwin observe in children trying to stop crying?

    Darwin expected children suppressing a crying-fit to check the eye-protecting muscles, bringing the central frontal fasciae into play. He and others observed this: a teased year-and-a-half-old girl showed oblique eyebrows before tears; an older girl's obliquity vanished once she wept; a vaccinated boy showed rectangular wrinkles when an orange stopped his crying; and a frightened girl's eyebrows became extremely oblique when she stopped whimpering.

    Chapter 39

  4. Why are grief-muscles seen more in children and women than men?

    The author argues children and women cry more freely than men, and adults of both sexes rarely weep except from mental distress. Since the grief-muscles are more frequently seen in children and women, and in adults mainly from mental distress, this fits his explanation that the movement is a habitual remnant of infant screaming. In some recorded cases, the grief-muscles were quickly followed by bitter weeping.

    Chapter 39

Section 404 cards
  1. Which muscle depresses the corners of the mouth, and what does Darwin say it expresses?

    The depressores anguli oris draws the corners of the mouth downwards and outwards, also affecting the outer upper lip and slightly the nostril wings. Darwin notes that its contraction expresses low spirits, grief, or dejection, and that 'down in the mouth' is synonymous with being out of spirits. He reports it in melancholic patients, including those with suicidal tendencies, and in Hindoos, hill-tribes of India, Malays, and Australian aborigines.

    Chapter 40

  2. Why does Darwin think the depressor muscle contracts with slight distress in adults?

    Darwin argues that because these muscles were repeatedly brought into strong action during infancy across many generations, nerve-force tends to flow to them by long-associated habit whenever even slight distress is felt later in life. He adds that Duchenne found this muscle among the least under voluntary control, so it may contract while other facial muscles stay passive.

    Chapter 40

  3. What did Darwin observe in infants regarding the depressor muscles and mouth shape?

    Darwin observed his own infants between about six weeks and two or three months. When screaming, infants contract muscles around the eyes and keep the mouth wide open, bringing the depressors into strong action, which generally causes a slight angular bend in the lower lip and a squarish mouth outline. The contraction is best seen just before screaming begins or as it ceases, giving a piteous expression; sometimes the outline becomes horseshoe-shaped.

    Chapter 40

  4. What did Darwin observe in the old lady on the train, and what did it illustrate?

    Darwin saw an old lady with a comfortable, absorbed expression whose depressores anguli oris contracted very slightly yet decidedly while her face stayed placid. Soon her eyes filled with tears and her countenance fell, suggesting a painful recollection. He concluded that nerve-cells, from long habit, ordered the respiratory and mouth muscles to prepare for crying; the will countermanded the order, but the depressors obeyed only slightly, betraying her state.

    Chapter 40

Section 414 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what is laughter primarily the expression of?

    Darwin argues that laughter seems primarily to be the expression of mere joy or happiness. He supports this with children at play who laugh almost incessantly, young people in high spirits, and Laura Bridgman, who, despite blindness and deafness, laughed and clapped her hands at a letter from a beloved friend. He also cites idiots who laugh from simple pleasure without distinct ideas.

    Chapter 41

  2. What does Darwin say is the commonest cause of laughter in grown-up persons?

    Darwin argues the commonest cause is something incongruous or unaccountable that excites surprise and some sense of superiority in the laugher, who must be in a happy frame of mind. The circumstances must not be momentous: no poor man would laugh on suddenly hearing he had been bequeathed a large fortune.

    Chapter 41

  3. How does Herbert Spencer explain the muscular actions of laughter?

    Darwin quotes Herbert Spencer: when the mind is strongly excited by pleasurable feelings and an unexpected event occurs, a large amount of nervous energy is suddenly checked in its flow instead of producing new thoughts and emotion. The excess must discharge itself elsewhere, producing an efflux through motor nerves to various muscles, causing the half-convulsive actions termed laughter.

    Chapter 41

  4. How does Darwin distinguish laughter from tickling from laughter at a ludicrous idea?

    Darwin says laughter from tickling is manifestly a reflex action, shown also by the minute unstriped muscles erecting hairs contracting near a tickled surface. Yet laughter from a ludicrous idea, though involuntary, cannot be called strictly reflex. In both cases the mind must be in a pleasurable condition, the touch must be light, and the idea must not be of grave import.

    Chapter 41

Section 424 cards
  1. According to Darwin, how is the sound of laughter physically produced?

    Darwin describes laughter as produced by a deep inspiration followed by short, interrupted, spasmodic contractions of the chest, and especially of the diaphragm. This shaking of the body causes the head to nod to and fro, and the lower jaw often quivers up and down, as also happens with some species of baboons when much pleased.

    Chapter 42

  2. What did Duchenne claim about the mouth during joy, and how did Darwin disagree?

    Duchenne repeatedly insisted that under joy the mouth is acted on exclusively by the great zygomatic muscles, drawing the corners backwards and upwards. Darwin doubts this, arguing from the upper teeth always being exposed during laughter and broad smiling, and from his own sensations, that some muscles running to the upper lip are also moderately active.

    Chapter 42

  3. Why did viewers judge Duchenne's galvanized smiling photograph unnatural?

    The photograph showed the old man's mouth corners strongly retracted by galvanization of the great zygomatic muscles. Shown to twenty-four persons, three could not tell what it meant, and the rest described it as 'a wicked joke,' 'trying to laugh,' or 'grinning laughter.' Duchenne blamed insufficient contraction of the lower eyelid orbiculars; Darwin adds that the upper lip was not drawn up and the corrugator was too contracted, causing a frown.

    Chapter 42

  4. What did Dr. Browne report about the zygomatic muscles in general paralysis of the insane?

    Browne reported that in this malady there is almost invariably optimism, delusions of wealth and grandeur, insane joyousness and benevolence, while the earliest physical symptom is trembling at the corners of the mouth and outer corners of the eyes. Constant tremulous agitation of the inferior palpebral and great zygomatic muscles is pathognomonic of early stages, with a pleased, benevolent expression until complete fatuity.

    Chapter 42

Section 434 cards
  1. Why does Darwin think the mouth's shape changes during laughter?

    Darwin admits the retraction of the mouth's corners and raising of the upper lip during laughter is an obscure point. He suggests that since a full volume of sound must be poured forth, the mouth orifice needs to be large, and it is perhaps to gain this end that the corners are retracted and the upper lip raised. He notes the lower jaw's vibration may prevent wide opening.

    Chapter 43

  2. How does Darwin contrast the breathing in laughter versus cries of distress?

    Darwin observes that in screams or cries of distress the expirations are prolonged and continuous while inspirations are short and interrupted. He suggests that with sounds uttered from joy it might have been expected the reverse would hold: expirations short and broken with inspirations prolonged. He states this is in fact the case, making laughter as different as possible from distress cries.

    Chapter 43

  3. What graduated series does Darwin trace from violent laughter to cheerfulness?

    Darwin describes a graduated series from violent laughter to moderate laughter, to a broad smile, to a gentle smile, and to mere cheerfulness. In excessive laughter the body is thrown back and shakes, respiration is disturbed, the face is gorged, orbicular muscles contract to protect the eyes, and tears are freely shed. He concludes no abrupt line of demarcation exists between violent laughter and a very faint smile.

    Chapter 43

  4. What does Darwin propose about the origin of the smile?

    Darwin suggests a probable view: the habit of uttering loud reiterated sounds from a sense of pleasure first led to retraction of the mouth's corners and upper lip and contraction of the orbicular muscles. Now, through association and long-continued habit, the same muscles come into slight play whenever a cause excites a feeling which, if stronger, would have led to laughter, producing a smile.

    Chapter 43

Section 444 cards
  1. At what age did Darwin first observe a real smile in his infants?

    Darwin observed the first real smile at about forty-five days in his first and second infants, and at a somewhat earlier age in a third. He judged the first infant's smiles genuine because on the third day, when the child was unwell, no trace of a smile appeared.

    Chapter 44

  2. How does Darwin describe the expression of high spirits in the face and body?

    A man in high spirits tends to retract the mouth corners, has bright eyes and raised colour, holds his body erect and head upright, and shows no drooping features or contracted eyebrows. The frontal muscle slightly contracts, smoothing the brow. Darwin notes Sir C. Bell's view that exhilarating emotions raise the eyebrows, eyelids, nostrils, and mouth angles, while depressing passions reverse this.

    Chapter 44

  3. How is laughter sometimes used to conceal other states of mind?

    Laughter is frequently employed in a forced manner to conceal or mask another state of mind, even anger. People often laugh to conceal shame or shyness. In derision, a real or pretended smile or laugh is blended with contempt, showing the offending person that he excites only amusement.

    Chapter 44

  4. What does Darwin say about love as an emotion and its expression?

    Darwin argues that love, though one of the strongest emotions, has hardly any proper or peculiar means of expression, since it has not habitually led to a special line of action. It generally causes a gentle smile and brightening of the eyes, and is expressed more plainly by the strong desire to touch the beloved person.

    Chapter 44

Section 453 cards
  1. According to Darwin, is kissing an innate mark of affection in humans?

    No. The author argues kissing is not innate, calling Steele mistaken for claiming nature authored it. Jemmy Button told Darwin the practice was unknown in his land, and it is equally unknown among New Zealanders, Tahitians, Papuans, Australians, Somals of Africa, and the Esquimaux. It is only so far innate that it depends on pleasure from close contact with a beloved person, and is replaced elsewhere by nose-rubbing and other acts.

    Chapter 45

  2. What feelings does Darwin say the 'tender' emotions are compounded of?

    The author states that tender feelings are difficult to analyse but seem compounded of affection, joy, and especially sympathy. They are pleasurable in themselves, except when pity is too deep or horror is aroused, as in hearing of a tortured man or animal. He notes they are remarkable for so readily exciting the secretion of tears, citing fathers and sons weeping on unexpected reunion after long separation.

    Chapter 45

  3. How does Darwin explain music's power to bring tears to the eyes?

    The author argues music vaguely recalls strong emotions felt during long-past ages, when early progenitors probably courted by vocal tones. Since grief, great joy, love, and sympathy all lead to free secretion of tears, music readily suffuses the eyes, especially when one is already softened by tender feelings. He also links the thrill down the backbone to the trembling muscles caused by strong emotion.

    Chapter 45

Section 464 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what does a frown express, and what does it not express?

    Darwin concludes that frowning is not the expression of simple reflection or close attention, but of something difficult or displeasing encountered in thought or action. Deep reflection seldom proceeds long without difficulty, so it is generally accompanied by a frown, which is why frowning often gives the face an aspect of intellectual energy—provided the eyes are clear and steady and no other expression disturbs the countenance.

    Chapter 46

  2. How does Darwin explain the origin of frowning in infancy?

    Darwin observed his own infants from under one week to two or three months old. When a screaming-fit came on gradually, the first sign was contraction of the corrugators, producing a slight frown, quickly followed by contraction of other muscles round the eyes. Since screaming is excited by every distressing sensation—hunger, pain, anger, jealousy, fear—he believes this largely explains frowning throughout life.

    Chapter 46

  3. What does Darwin say about kneeling with joined palms as a devotional gesture?

    Though it seems innate from long habit, Darwin found no evidence for this among extra-European races, and a classicist told him Roman hands were not joined in prayer during the classical period. He cites Mr. Rensleigh Wedgwood's explanation that the suppliant represents a captive offering his hands to be bound, the pictorial equivalent of the Latin dare manus, signifying submission.

    Chapter 46

  4. How does Darwin explain the upturning of the eyes during devotion?

    Sir C. Bell held that the eyes are raised by an action neither taught nor acquired, due to the same cause as at sleep, fainting, or death. Darwin notes Professor Donders confirmed the eyes turn up in sleep but rejected Bell's muscle-control explanation. Since the eyes are often raised in prayer without absorbed thought, Darwin argues the movement is probably conventional, from the common belief that Heaven is above.

    Chapter 46

Section 471 cards
  1. Why does Darwin think frowning persists into adulthood?

    Darwin argues that infants contract their brows at the start of every crying fit across innumerable generations, so the movement became firmly associated with an incipient sense of something distressing. Since weeping is voluntarily restrained early in life but frowning is hardly ever restrained at any age, the habit continues in maturity even when it never develops into a crying fit.

    Chapter 47

Section 484 cards
  1. When does Darwin say people raise hands to face during thought?

    Darwin states that people commonly raise their hands to their foreheads, mouths, or chins during perplexed reflection—when encountering difficulty—but not, as far as he has seen, when quite lost in meditation with no difficulty encountered. He notes the gesture in Kafirs of South Africa and wild Indians of the western United States, and admits why the hand goes to the mouth or face is far from clear.

    Chapter 48

  2. What facial features counteract a cross expression from frowning?

    Darwin explains that a cross expression due to a frown may be counteracted if the mouth appears sweet from habitual smiling and the eyes are bright and cheerful, or if the eye is clear and steady with an appearance of earnest reflection. Frowning combined with depressed mouth corners—a sign of grief—gives an air of peevishness instead.

    Chapter 48

  3. How does Darwin test Duchenne's claim about the pyramidal nose muscle?

    Duchenne believed contraction of the pyramidal muscles of the nose, without frowning, gives an appearance of extreme and aggressive hardness. Darwin doubts this is a true or natural expression: he showed Duchenne's photograph of a young man with the muscle galvanically contracted to eleven persons, including artists, and none could guess the intended expression except one girl who answered 'surely reserve.'

    Chapter 48

  4. What does Darwin conclude about pouting in children across cultures?

    Darwin finds pouting—protruding both lips into a tubular form, usually with frowning—is characteristic of sulkiness throughout much of the world, observed in Australia, India, Africa, China, Abyssinia, Malaya, Borneo, and New Zealand. He argues it likely results from retention during youth of a primordial habit or occasional reversion, since young orangs and chimpanzees protrude their lips when sulky or slightly angered.

    Chapter 48

Section 494 cards
  1. Why does Darwin think savage children pout more readily than civilized European children?

    The author argues that the essence of savagery consists in retention of a primordial condition, which occasionally holds good even with bodily peculiarities. On this view, children of savages show a stronger tendency to protrude their lips when sulky than children of civilized Europeans. He notes the objection that anthropoid apes also protrude their lips when astonished or pleased, while in humans the expression is generally confined to a sulky frame of mind.

    Chapter 49

  2. How does Darwin explain the firm closure of the mouth as a sign of determination?

    The author argues that prolonged effort implies previous determination, and that before violent muscular exertion a man first distends his lungs and compresses the air, requiring the mouth to be firmly closed. Through association, the mouth would then close as soon as any resolution is taken, even before bodily exertion. He adds that habitual firm closure of the mouth thus comes to show decision of character, and decision readily passes into obstinacy.

    Chapter 49

  3. What competing explanations does Darwin give for holding the chest distended during exertion?

    Sir C. Bell maintains the distended chest gives fixed support to the muscles attached to it, hence the terrible silence in a deadly struggle, since expelling air in sound would relax support for the arms. Gratiolet argues arrested respiration retards circulation, which he holds necessary for prolonged exertion. Dr. Piderit says the will spreads to other muscles, especially those of respiration and mouth. Darwin thinks there is probably some truth in Piderit's view and that all causes may act in different degrees.

    Chapter 49

  4. How does Darwin describe the sulky child's gesture of "showing a cold shoulder"?

    Darwin says this gesture differs in meaning from keeping both shoulders raised. A cross child sitting on its parent's knee will lift the near shoulder, then jerk it away as if from a caress, and afterwards give a backward push with it, as if to push away the offender. He also saw a child standing at a distance from anyone clearly express its feelings by raising one shoulder, giving it a little backward movement, and then turning away its whole body.

    Chapter 49

Section 503 cards
  1. How does Darwin explain the bared teeth during rage?

    Darwin says the lips are more commonly retracted than protruded, exposing grinning or clenched teeth, as if ready for seizing or tearing an enemy, though there may be no intention of acting so. He notes it in Australians, Kafirs, and children who naturally bite in passion, and Dr. Crichton Browne observed it in the insane and idiotic, comparing it to young crocodiles snapping from the egg.

    Chapter 50

  2. What does Darwin say about the pupils and eyes during rage?

    Darwin reports the eyes are always bright, may glisten, are sometimes bloodshot, and are said to protrude, likely because the head is gorged with blood as shown by distended veins. According to Gratiolet, the pupils are always contracted in rage, and Dr. Crichton Browne confirms this in the fierce delirium of meningitis; but Darwin calls iris movements under emotion a very obscure subject.

    Chapter 50

  3. What does Darwin say about trembling and the voice during extreme rage?

    Darwin notes the muscular system is often affected in a wholly different way: trembling frequently follows extreme rage. The paralysed lips refuse to obey the will, the voice sticks in the throat, or becomes loud, harsh, and discordant. With much rapid speaking the mouth froths, the hair sometimes bristles, and there is usually a strongly-marked frown, though sometimes the brow stays smooth with glaring wide-open eyes.

    Chapter 50

Section 513 cards
  1. According to Darwin, how do anger and indignation differ from rage?

    The author states that anger and indignation differ from rage only in degree, with no marked distinction in their characteristic signs. In moderate anger the heart beats faster, color heightens, eyes brighten, respiration quickens, nostrils are raised, the mouth is compressed, and a frown appears. Instead of frantic gestures, an indignant man takes an attitude ready to attack or strike, head erect and chest expanded.

    Chapter 51

  2. What does Darwin say about fist-clenching as an expression of rage across cultures?

    The author argues that rage, anger, and indignation are exhibited in nearly the same manner worldwide, but fist-clenching is an exception, seeming confined chiefly to men who fight with their fists. Only one informant had seen Australians clench their fists, and accounts of Malays, Abyssinians, South Africans, Dakota Indians, and others were similar in this respect.

    Chapter 51

  3. What physical signs does Darwin list for moderate anger and indignation?

    Under moderate anger the heart's action increases slightly, color heightens, eyes brighten, and respiration is a little hurried; since breathing muscles act in association, the wings of the nostrils are somewhat raised, which the author calls a highly characteristic sign of indignation. The mouth is commonly compressed and a frown almost always appears on the brow.

    Chapter 51

Section 524 cards
  1. What facial movement produces the one-sided canine exposure in sneering?

    Darwin describes it as a double movement: the corner of the mouth is drawn slightly backwards, while a muscle running parallel to and near the nose draws up the outer part of the upper lip, exposing the canine on that side. This contraction makes a furrow on the cheek and strong wrinkles under the eye, especially at the inner corner. Darwin compares it to a snarling dog, which often draws up the lip on the side facing its antagonist.

    Chapter 52

  2. How does Darwin connect the words sneer and snarl?

    Darwin states that the word sneer is in fact the same as snarl, which was originally snar, with the l being merely an element implying continuance of action. He links this etymology to the shared action of raising the upper lip on one side, as a snarling dog does. The chapter presents this as part of his argument that the human sneer retains an animal-like muscular basis.

    Chapter 52

  3. What evidence does Darwin give that the one-sided canine display occurs across races?

    Darwin cites Mr. Bulmer, an Australian missionary in Gipps' Land, who reported natives snarling with teeth closed, upper lip drawn to one side, and angry expression while looking directly at the person addressed. Three other Australian observers, one in Abyssinia, and one in China answered affirmatively, though Darwin distrusts these because the expression is rare and details are lacking. Geach saw it once in a Malay in Malacca, Glenie in Ceylon natives, and Rothrock in some wild Indians in North America.

    Chapter 52

  4. Why does Darwin doubt the one-sided canine movement is essential to the expression?

    Darwin notes the face is commonly half averted and the expression momentary, and suggests the one-sidedness may depend on muscles incapable of movement except on one side. Of four people asked to act voluntarily, two could expose the canine only on the left, one only on the right, and one on neither. He argues this frequent loss of voluntary control indicates a rarely used, almost abortive action, though people might still unconsciously uncover the canine on the side toward an offender.

    Chapter 52

Section 534 cards
  1. How does Darwin distinguish disgust from contempt and scorn?

    Darwin says disgust is more distinct: it refers to something revolting, primarily related to taste as actually perceived or vividly imagined, and secondarily to anything causing similar feeling through smell, touch, or eyesight. Scorn and disdain differ from contempt mainly by implying a more angry frame of mind. He adds that extreme contempt, or loathing contempt, hardly differs from disgust, so these states are nearly related.

    Chapter 53

  2. What facial movements does Darwin describe as expressing contempt?

    Darwin says contempt is most commonly expressed by movements about the nose or round the mouth, with strong mouth movements indicating disgust. The nose may be slightly turned up, wrinkled, or contracted to partly close the passage, often with a slight snort. These are the same actions used to exclude an offensive odour. In extreme cases the lips are protruded and raised to close the nostrils, as if saying the person smells offensively.

    Chapter 53

  3. What does Darwin say about laughter and derision in young children?

    Darwin states that scorn, disdain, sneering, and defiance may be shown by slightly uncovering the canine tooth on one side, graduating into something like a smile. The smile or laugh may be real but derisive, implying the offender is insignificant and excites only amusement, though the amusement is generally a pretence. Since laughter is primarily the expression of simple joy, Darwin believes very young children never laugh in derision.

    Chapter 53

  4. How did Darwin interpret the Fuegian reaction to his preserved meat?

    Darwin recounts that in Tierra del Fuego a native touched with his finger some cold preserved meat Darwin was eating and showed utter disgust at its softness, while Darwin felt utter disgust at his food being touched by a naked savage, though the hands did not appear dirty. Darwin presumes such feelings follow from the strong association in our minds between the sight of food, however circumstanced, and the idea of eating it.

    Chapter 53

Section 544 cards
  1. Why does Darwin suspect humans once had voluntary control over vomiting?

    Darwin argues that retching from a mere idea of unusual food is too quick to be reflex vomiting, which usually follows a considerable interval after a real cause. He suspects our progenitors could voluntarily reject disagreeing food, like ruminants, and that this lost power now acts involuntarily through habit when the mind revolts at food or anything disgusting.

    Chapter 54

  2. How did Darwin's own skeleton-cleaning experience illustrate disgust from odour?

    Darwin wished to clean a bird skeleton not sufficiently macerated, and the smell made him and his servant retch so violently they had to stop. Earlier, slightly smelly skeletons had not affected him, yet for several days afterward handling those same skeletons made him retch. He notes the tendency is strengthened by some habit but lost by longer familiarity and voluntary restraint.

    Chapter 54

  3. What evidence does Darwin give that spitting universally signifies contempt or disgust?

    Darwin says spitting seems an almost universal sign of contempt or disgust, obviously representing rejection of something offensive from the mouth. He cites Shakespeare's Duke of Norfolk and Falstaff, Leichhardt on Australians spitting with a pooh noise, Burton on certain negroes spitting with disgust, Speedy on Abyssinians, Geach on Malays, and Bridges, who says Fuegians consider spitting at one the highest mark of contempt.

    Chapter 54

  4. What did Darwin observe in his infant that showed disgust, and what did he doubt?

    At five months, cold water, and a month later a piece of ripe cherry, made the infant's lips and whole mouth assume a shape letting contents fall quickly out, with the tongue protruded and a little shudder. Darwin found it comical because he doubted the child felt real disgust; the eyes and forehead expressed surprise and consideration. He suggests tongue protrusion in expelling a nasty object explains lolling out the tongue as a universal sign of contempt.

    Chapter 54

Section 554 cards
  1. According to Herbert Spencer, what eye and head movements produce the expression of slyness?

    Spencer argues that when a person wants to see something to one side without appearing to, the tendency is to check the conspicuous head movement and adjust with the eyes alone, drawing them far to one side. Thus eyes turned to one side while the face is not turned the same way gives the natural language of slyness. Darwin adds that eye movements are less under will owing to long-continued habit.

    Chapter 55

  2. How does Darwin describe the bodily expression of pride, and what is it contrasted with?

    The author states pride is perhaps the most plainly expressed of the complex emotions. A proud man holds head and body erect, making himself appear as large as possible, and is metaphorically 'puffed up.' He looks down on others, may lower his eyelids, or show contempt via nostril or lip movements; the muscle everting the lower lip is called musculus superbus. The whole expression stands in direct antithesis to humility.

    Chapter 55

  3. What movements make up the full gesture of helplessness or shrugging the shoulders?

    Darwin describes raising both shoulders quickly, bending elbows closely inwards, raising open hands turned outwards with fingers separated, often tilting the head to one side, elevating eyebrows (causing forehead wrinkles), and generally opening the mouth. He notes he was unaware his own eyebrows and mouth moved until he looked in a glass, showing how unconsciously the features are acted on.

    Chapter 55

  4. What evidence does Darwin give that shoulder-shrugging is innate rather than imitative?

    The author cites Laura Bridgman, blind and deaf, who could not have learned by imitation, yet shrugs, turns in her elbows, and raises her eyebrows under the same circumstances. He also describes two children with one quarter French blood who shrugged before eighteen months and then discontinued it, and notes the gesture occurs among races with little European contact, sometimes limited to raising the shoulders alone.

    Chapter 55

Section 562 cards
  1. How does a slight change turn the shrug into a different meaning?

    Darwin says that as the shrug generally implies 'I cannot do this or that,' by a slight change it sometimes implies 'I won't do it,' expressing dogged determination not to act. He cites Olmsted's Indian in Texas and sulky children raising both shoulders, though without the other accompanying movements.

    Chapter 56

  2. By what principle does Darwin explain the shrug and its accompanying movements?

    Darwin argues the explanation lies in the principle of unconscious antithesis. He compares it to a dog: when savage it assumes an attitude for attacking and appearing terrible, but when affectionate it throws its body into a directly opposite attitude, though this is of no direct use to it.

    Chapter 56

Section 574 cards
  1. How does Darwin describe the bodily posture of an indignant man versus a helpless man?

    The author describes an indignant man as holding his head erect, squaring his shoulders, expanding his chest, clenching his fists, and putting his arms in position for attack or defence, with rigid limbs, frowning brows, and closed mouth. The helpless man's actions and attitude are exactly the reverse in every respect: raised eyebrows, relaxed mouth with dropped jaw, and contrasting limb positions.

    Chapter 57

  2. What evidence does Darwin give that nodding and head-shaking are innate rather than learned?

    Darwin cites Laura Bridgman, blind and deaf, who constantly accompanied her yes with the common affirmative nod and her no with a negative shake of the head. He also notes microcephalous idiots who never learn to speak answering by inclining or shaking the head, and Schmalz assuming deaf and dumb persons can make and understand these signs. Darwin admits he would have thought Bridgman learned them, given her touch sensitivity.

    Chapter 57

  3. Are nodding and head-shaking universal across human races according to Darwin's informants?

    Darwin concludes they are not so universally employed as he expected, yet seem too general to be ranked as altogether conventional. Informants report both signs among Malays, Ceylon natives, Chinese, Guinea coast negroes, and Kafirs, though Mrs. Barber never saw a lateral shake used negatively by the latter. Australians mostly nod for affirmation, but negatives vary: Gipps' Land uses head thrown back with tongue out, Torres Straits shakes a raised hand, and Esquimaux use a wink for no.

    Chapter 57

  4. What does Darwin suggest about the origin of affirmation and negation signs in infants?

    Darwin observed his own infants refusing food by withdrawing their heads laterally from the breast or spoon, and accepting food by inclining their heads forwards. He notes a single forward movement and single nod imply affirmation, while refusal often involves several side-to-side head movements like shaking for negation, sometimes with the head thrown back or mouth closed. He cites Charma having the same idea and Wedgwood on the n or m sound with closed lips.

    Chapter 57

Section 584 cards
  1. How do Fuegians and North American Indians differ on nodding and shaking the head?

    Mr. Bridges reports that Fuegians nod vertically for affirmation and shake laterally for denial. Mr. Washington Matthews states that wild North American Indians learned nodding and shaking from Europeans and do not naturally use them; they instead express affirmation with a downward-outward hand curve and negation with the open hand moved outward, palm inward.

    Chapter 58

  2. What exceptions to the worldwide shaking-of-the-head sign of negation does Darwin list?

    Darwin argues that shaking the finger or hand sideways symbolizes the lateral head shake, and that a sudden backward head movement echoes children refusing food, giving much worldwide uniformity to negation signs. The most marked exceptions he names are the Arabs, Esquimaux, some Australian tribes, and Dyaks, with whom a frown serves as the sign of negation.

    Chapter 58

  3. How does Darwin explain the raising of the eyebrows in surprise?

    Darwin argues the eyebrows are raised because opening the eyes rapidly by lifting the upper lids alone is impossible; the eyebrows must be lifted energetically, which opens the eyes so widely that the white shows around the iris. Raised eyebrows also aid looking upward. The habit, once gained for seeing quickly, then follows by association whenever astonishment is felt.

    Chapter 58

  4. What did Duchenne's galvanized photograph of an old man show when Darwin tested it?

    Duchenne photographed an old man with eyebrows elevated and arched by galvanization of the frontal muscle and mouth voluntarily opened. Darwin showed it to twenty-four people without explanation; only one did not understand it, one answered terror, and others added horrified, woful, painful, or disgusted to surprise or astonishment.

    Chapter 58

Section 594 cards
  1. Why does Darwin reject the idea that the open mouth in astonishment aids hearing?

    Darwin notes that people listening intently to a known slight noise did not open their mouths. Dr. W. Ogle's search of authorities showed the eustachian tube stays closed except during swallowing, and an abnormally open tube impairs hearing by making respiratory sounds more distinct. A watch inside the mouth ticks less plainly than outside, so the mouth is not kept open to hear better.

    Chapter 59

  2. How does Darwin explain the open mouth during quiet listening after a startle?

    Every sudden emotion quickens the heart and respiration. Darwin, following Gratiolet, holds that we breathe more quietly through the open mouth than the nostrils. So when listening intently we stop breathing or breathe as quietly as possible with mouths open and bodies still. He reports his son woke at night and found his mouth wide open for this reason, and contrasts dogs, which shut their mouths to listen.

    Chapter 59

  3. What causes the jaw to drop during prolonged concentrated attention?

    Darwin argues that when attention is fixed earnestly on something for a long time, all organs are forgotten and neglected. Since each individual's nervous energy is limited, little is transmitted except to the part in energetic action, so many muscles relax and the jaw drops from its own weight. This accounts for the stupefied open mouth of amazement, and he noted it in only moderately surprised young children.

    Chapter 59

  4. Why does a sudden start open the mouth, and what sounds follow?

    When startled, almost all muscles momentarily act strongly to guard against or escape danger, and we unconsciously prepare for exertion by first taking a deep full inspiration, easier through the wide-open mouth. If no exertion follows, we breathe quietly to hear. A strong expiration follows the inspiration, and with protruded lips this yields sounds like a deep Oh, groans, or whistles, as in the Beagle rocket and Tahiti example.

    Chapter 59

Section 604 cards
  1. How does Darwin explain the clucking or clicking sound people make when astonished?

    Darwin reports that Australians often show astonishment with a clucking noise, and Europeans sometimes express gentle surprise with a similar little click. He suggests that when startled the mouth suddenly opens; if the tongue is pressed against the palate, its sudden withdrawal produces this sound, which might thus come to express surprise.

    Chapter 60

  2. What bodily gestures does Darwin describe as expressing astonishment?

    A surprised person often raises opened hands high above the head, or bends the arms to face level, with flat palms directed toward the cause and straightened fingers separated. Huschke described a related gesture: holding the body erect with straightened arms extended backwards and fingers separated. Darwin cites Leonardo's 'Last Supper,' his wife's reaction, his children, and Laura Bridgman as examples.

    Chapter 60

  3. On what principle does Darwin explain the gestures of astonishment?

    The author argues these gestures are explicable on the principle of antithesis. An ordinary person keeps arms lax by his sides, hands somewhat flexed, fingers near together. Raising the arms, opening the palms flat, and separating the fingers are movements in complete antithesis to this indifferent state, and are consequently assumed unconsciously by an astonished man. He adds that emotions like terror or rage already produce plain bodily effects.

    Chapter 60

  4. What physical symptoms does Darwin list for fear and terror?

    Darwin describes the heart beating quickly and violently, the skin turning pale, and perspiration exuding coldly. Hairs stand erect, superficial muscles shiver, breathing is hurried, and the mouth becomes dry. Muscles tremble, often first in the lips, making the voice husky or failing. The frightened person first stands motionless and breathless, or crouches to escape observation.

    Chapter 60

Section 613 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what physical signs appear as fear rises to an extreme pitch?

    Darwin describes the dreadful scream of terror, great beads of sweat on the skin, relaxation of all muscles, utter prostration, failure of mental powers, affected intestines, and sphincter muscles that cease to act and no longer retain the body's contents. He presents these as diversified results appearing as fear increases into an agony of terror.

    Chapter 61

  2. How do fear signs in various races compare with Europeans, per Darwin's informants?

    Darwin's informants agreed the signs are the same as with Europeans, displayed in exaggerated degree among Hindoos and natives of Ceylon. Geach saw Malays turn pale and shake; Brough Smyth described an Australian's paleness; Dyson Lacy saw twitching and perspiration. Darwin notes many savages do not repress fear signs as Europeans do, and sphincter relaxation often occurs.

    Chapter 61

  3. What did Dr. Ogle observe in the prostrated murderer regarding hair erection?

    Dr. Ogle watched a murderer of two persons being handcuffed and taken by police. Pallor was extreme, prostration so great he could hardly dress, skin perspired, eyelids and head drooped, lower jaw hung down, and no facial muscle contracted. Ogle was almost certain the hair did not stand on end, having observed it narrowly because it had been dyed for concealment.

    Chapter 61

Section 624 cards
  1. What did Dr. Browne say about bristling hair in the insane?

    Dr. Browne remarks that bristling hair is common in the insane but not always tied to terror; it is most frequent in chronic maniacs with incoherent raving and destructive impulses, and most observable during paroxysms of violence. He notes erection occurs under both rage and fear, matching lower animals, and adduces cases, including a man whose hair rose like a Shetland pony's mane before each paroxysm.

    Chapter 62

  2. Why is insane patients' hair extraordinary, and what did Dr. Browne attribute it to?

    The extraordinary condition is due not only to erection but to dryness and harshness, because the subcutaneous glands fail to act. Dr. Browne attributes the persistently rough hair partly to minds being always somewhat disturbed and partly to habit, the hair being frequently and strongly erected during many recurrent paroxysms. Where bristling is extreme, the disease is generally permanent and mortal; with moderate bristling, hair smooths as mental health recovers.

    Chapter 62

  3. What does the platysma myoides do, and why does Darwin doubt calling it the muscle of fright?

    Contraction draws the corners of the mouth and lower cheeks downwards and backwards, producing divergent longitudinal ridges on the neck in the young and fine transverse wrinkles in old thin persons. Duchenne calls it the muscle of fright, admitting its contraction is inexpressive without widely open eyes and mouth. Darwin thinks it adds greatly to fear's expression but is not a necessary concomitant, since extreme terror can occur with all muscles, including the platysma, completely relaxed.

    Chapter 62

  4. What did Dr. Ogle observe about the platysma in patients before chloroform?

    Dr. Ogle observed about twenty patients in a London hospital just before chloroform for operations. They showed some trepidation but no great terror; in only four was the platysma visibly contracted, and it began only when patients began to cry, seeming to contract at each deep-drawn inspiration, so it is doubtful the contraction depended on fear. A fifth, terrified patient had more forcible persistent contraction, but doubt remained since the muscle also contracted when he moved his head.

    Chapter 62

Section 634 cards
  1. Why does Darwin think the platysma contracts during fear?

    Darwin links it to shuddering: the first sensation of fear commonly excites a shudder, and he observed his own platysma contract during an involuntary shudder and when simulating one. Since the muscle often contracts during a shudder, he proposes this as a clue to its action in fear. He notes it is not an invariable concomitant, probably never acting under extreme, prostrating terror.

    Chapter 63

  2. What evidence does Darwin cite for pupil dilatation during terror?

    Gratiolet repeatedly insists pupils are enormously dilated whenever terror is felt. Darwin says he has no reason to doubt it but failed to obtain confirmatory evidence, except in one insane woman suffering great fear. He rejects the idea that fear of darkness explains an associated habit, and suggests instead the brain is directly affected by fear, though Donders calls the subject extremely complicated.

    Chapter 63

  3. How did respondents classify Duchenne's galvanism photograph of the old man?

    Darwin showed the photograph to twenty-three persons of both sexes and various ages. Thirteen answered horror, great pain, torture, or agony; three answered extreme fright, so sixteen roughly agreed with Duchenne's belief that it showed extreme terror with horrible pain. Six said anger, guided by the strongly contracted brows while overlooking the opened mouth; one said disgust. Darwin concludes it fairly represents horror and agony.

    Chapter 63

  4. How does Darwin define horror and its relation to fear?

    Darwin says horror implies terror and is sometimes almost synonymous with it, as in dreading a surgical operation or a hated man. We feel horror seeing another, such as a child, in instant crushing danger, or a man being tortured; there is no danger to ourselves, but imagination and sympathy let us put ourselves in the sufferer's position and feel something akin to fear.

    Chapter 63

Section 644 cards
  1. What is the most frequent gesture of horror Darwin infers from people imagining a dreadful scene?

    Darwin states that the most frequent gesture, judging from persons endeavoring to express a vividly imagined scene of horror, is the raising of both shoulders with bent arms pressed closely against the sides or chest. He notes these movements resemble those made when feeling very cold, and are generally accompanied by a shudder and a deep expiration or inspiration, producing sounds like uh or ugh.

    Chapter 64

  2. How does Darwin explain the symptoms of fear like rapid heartbeat and trembling?

    Darwin argues these signs may be partly explained by habit, association, and inheritance: ancestral headlong flight and violent struggle caused rapid heartbeat, hurried breathing, heaving chest, and dilated nostrils, ending in prostration, pallor, perspiration, and trembling. These results tend to reappear when fear is strongly felt even without exertion. He adds that many symptoms are probably also directly due to disturbed transmission of nerve-force from the cerebro-spinal system.

    Chapter 64

  3. Why does Darwin consider blushing the most peculiar and most human expression?

    Darwin says blushing is the most peculiar and most human of all expressions, noting monkeys redden from passion but no animal could be believed to blush without overwhelming evidence. The facial reddening results from relaxation of the muscular coats of the small arteries, filling capillaries with blood, depending on the vaso-motor centre being affected. It cannot be produced by any physical means; the mind must be affected, and it is involuntary.

    Chapter 64

  4. What evidence does Darwin give that the tendency to blush is inherited?

    Darwin cites Dr. Burgess's case of a family of a father, mother, and ten grown children, all prone to blush to a painful degree; travel was tried to wear away this sensibility with no avail. He also reports Sir James Paget noticing a girl's singular blushing pattern, a big splash of red on one cheek then others scattered over face and neck, and her mother, when asked, blushed in the same manner, saying the daughter takes after her.

    Chapter 64

Section 652 cards
  1. What explanation does Darwin give for why the face, ears, and neck alone redden?

    The author argues it depends chiefly on the face and adjoining skin being habitually exposed to air, light, and temperature changes, so their small arteries readily dilate and contract and appear unusually developed. He notes the face also reddens from fever, heat, exertion, and anger, and pales from cold and fear. He doubts exposure alone suffices, since hands are exposed yet rarely blush, and suggests attention directed to the face explains it.

    Chapter 65

  2. How does blushing appear across different human races, according to the chapter?

    The small vessels of the face fill with blood from shame in almost all races, though in very dark races no distinct colour change is perceptible. Blushing is evident in all Aryan nations of Europe and to some extent in India, but Mr. Erskine never noticed Hindoos' necks decidedly affected. Mr. Scott observed faint blushes on Lepchas' cheeks, ear bases, and neck sides, with sunken eyes and lowered head, especially when detecting falsehood or accusing ingratitude.

    Chapter 65

Section 664 cards
  1. What evidence does Darwin give that negroes blush despite no visible redness?

    Darwin reports trustworthy observers saw a blush-like darkening of black skin. He cites an albino negress with faint crimson cheeks, and Dr. Burgess, who saw a white scar on a negress's face 'invariably become red' when she was abruptly spoken to or charged with an offence, the blush spreading from the scar's edge inward. Darwin concludes negroes blush although no redness is visible.

    Chapter 66

  2. How does blushing vary among the Australians according to Darwin's informants?

    Four informants asserted Australians never blush; a fifth was doubtful, noting only a strong blush could be seen through dirty skin. Three observers said they do blush, Mr. S. Wilson adding it shows only under strong emotion and when skin is not too dark from exposure and dirt. Mr. Lang saw shame excite a blush often reaching the neck, plus eyes turning side to side.

    Chapter 66

  3. What did Mr. Geach observe about the downward extent of blushing?

    Among Chinese settlers in Malacca and interior Malays, Geach attended to how far down the blush spread. With a 24-year-old Chinaman, face, arms, and breast reddened from shame; with another Chinese, asked why his work was poorly done, the whole body was affected. In two Malays he saw face, neck, breast, and arms blush; in a third Malay (a Bugis) it reached the waist.

    Chapter 66

  4. What does Darwin suggest about Von Spix and Martius's claim on Brazilian Indians?

    Von Spix and Martius asserted Brazilian aborigines cannot properly be said to blush, perceiving a change of colour only after long intercourse with whites and some education. Darwin calls it incredible that the power of blushing could have thus originated, but argues the habit of self-attention from education and a new course of life would have much increased any innate tendency to blush.

    Chapter 66

Section 674 cards
  1. What movements and gestures accompany blushing under a keen sense of shame?

    Darwin states that under keen shame there is a strong desire for concealment: the person turns away the whole body, especially the face, casts down the eyes or looks askant, and struggles between wanting to hide and trying to appear unashamed. This conflict produces restless eye movements, sometimes rapid blinking, and occasionally a slight effusion of tears from the engorged capillaries.

    Chapter 67

  2. What evidence does Darwin give that blushing occurs across human races?

    Darwin asserts that the facts he has given suffice to show blushing, whether or not colour changes, is common to most and probably all races of man. He supports this with reports of aborigines in various parts of the world showing shame by looking downward or askant or by restless eye movements, and with literary and biblical references to the same gestures.

    Chapter 67

  3. How does Darwin explain mental confusion during intense blushing?

    Darwin notes that intense blushers lose presence of mind, stammer, and make awkward movements. He doubts rapid heartbeat and disturbed breathing fully explain it, since anger and fear affect circulation more powerfully. He argues the true explanation lies in the intimate sympathy between capillary circulation of the face and head and that of the brain, citing Dr. Crichton Browne's evidence on flushed skin and cranial temperature.

    Chapter 67

  4. What did Dr. Browne's nitrite of amyl experiments show about blushing?

    Dr. Browne administered nitrite of amyl vapour, which causes vivid facial redness within thirty to sixty seconds resembling blushing in almost every detail: it starts at distinct points and spreads over the head, neck, and chest, the retinal arteries enlarge, and eyes glisten. Patients first feel pleasantly stimulated, then confused and bewildered as flushing increases. Darwin infers the facial capillaries are affected before the brain region governing mental powers.

    Chapter 67

Section 684 cards
  1. What does Darwin identify as the essential element in all blushing-inducing mental states?

    Darwin states that shyness, shame, and modesty all induce blushing, and the essential element in all of them is self-attention. He argues the original exciting cause was self-attention directed to personal appearance in relation to others' opinions, with self-attention about moral conduct later producing the same effect through association. It is thinking what others think of us, not merely reflecting on our own appearance, that excites a blush.

    Chapter 68

  2. According to Darwin, what evidence suggests personal appearance rather than moral conduct is fundamental to blushing?

    Darwin cites several points: shy persons blush most at any remark on their appearance; staring hard makes people blush; the albinos observed by Dr. Burgess blushed deeply at the slightest attempt to examine their peculiarities; women, especially elderly women, are more sensitive about appearance than men and blush more freely; and the young blush more than the old. He calls these reasons separately light but combined of considerable weight.

    Chapter 68

  3. Why does Darwin think the face blushes more than other body parts?

    Darwin argues the face is the chief seat of expression, the source of the voice, the chief seat of beauty and ugliness, and the most ornamented part of the body worldwide. It therefore received closer and more earnest self-attention over many generations than any other part. He adds that temperature exposure may have increased facial capillary power, but that alone cannot explain why hands rarely blush.

    Chapter 68

  4. Why does Darwin believe shame makes people hide or avert the face?

    Darwin argues the object can hardly be to conceal blushes, since faces are hidden even when guilt is fully confessed and repented. He suggests primeval man, before acquiring much moral sensitiveness, was highly sensitive about personal appearance, especially toward the other sex, and felt distress at depreciatory remarks. Since the face is the most regarded part, someone ashamed of appearance would want to conceal it; the habit then carried over to strictly moral shame.

    Chapter 68

Section 694 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what causes the ashamed person's habit of averting or lowering the eyes?

    Darwin argues it follows from each glance toward those present bringing home the conviction that he is intently regarded. By not looking at others, especially not at their eyes, the person momentarily escapes this painful conviction. The habit is thus a way of avoiding the reminder that one is being watched.

    Chapter 69

  2. Why does Darwin say shy persons blush especially in the presence of strangers?

    Darwin argues shyness depends on sensitiveness to others' opinions, especially about external appearance. Strangers neither know nor care about our conduct or character, but they may criticize our appearance, so shy persons blush particularly before strangers. For conduct rather than appearance, we are more shy before acquaintances whose judgment we value.

    Chapter 69

  3. Does Darwin claim guilt itself produces blushing?

    No. Darwin argues it is not conscience or the sense of guilt that raises a blush, since a man may feel deep remorse for an undetected crime without blushing. Rather, it is the thought that others think or know us guilty that crimsons the face. He notes a man may be ashamed of a small falsehood without blushing, but blushes if he suspects detection.

    Chapter 69

  4. What does Darwin say about reprehending children for shyness?

    Darwin argues that since shyness apparently depends on self-attention, those who maintain that reprehending children for shyness does harm rather than good are right. Scolding calls the child's attention still more closely to itself. He quotes that nothing hurts young people more than being watched continually about their feelings and having their countenances scrutinized.

    Chapter 69

Section 703 cards
  1. Why does a breach of etiquette cause intense blushing, according to Darwin?

    Darwin says etiquette rules are often meaningless and unrelated to the moral sense, yet because they rest on the fixed custom of equals and superiors whose opinion we highly regard, they feel almost as binding as a gentleman's laws of honour. So any impoliteness, gaucherie, or inappropriate remark, even accidental, can cause the most intense blushing, and its recollection years later can make the body tingle.

    Chapter 70

  2. How does Darwin distinguish modesty as humility from modesty about indelicacy?

    Darwin argues the word modesty covers different mental states linked only by readiness to blush. As humility, it means a low opinion of oneself, shown by blushing at slight praise or being annoyed by praise above one's own standard. As indelicacy, it is an affair of etiquette, as seen in nearly naked nations; he derives 'modest' from modus, a standard of behaviour, and notes shyness is often mistaken for modest humility.

    Chapter 70

  3. Does Darwin accept that people can blush in solitude or darkness?

    Yes. Darwin says several ladies who blush greatly agree on solitude, and some believe they have blushed in the dark; from Mr. Forbes on the Aymaras and his own sensations he has no doubt the latter is correct. He therefore says Shakespeare erred in Juliet's lines about night masking her blush. When blushing occurs in solitude, the cause almost always relates to thoughts of others about us.

    Chapter 70

Section 714 cards
  1. What is Darwin's hypothesis about how attention affects the body?

    The author argues that attention closely directed to any part of the body tends to interfere with the tonic contraction of that part's small arteries, causing them to relax and fill with arterial blood. He adds this tendency would strengthen if attention were paid over many generations, through nerve-force flowing along accustomed channels and by inheritance.

    Chapter 71

  2. Why does Darwin think the face is especially susceptible to blushing?

    Because we are most sensitive about our faces when we believe others are judging our appearance, and this has been so during many past generations. Assuming capillary vessels can be acted on by close attention, facial vessels became eminently susceptible. Through association, the same effects follow when we think others are censuring our actions or character.

    Chapter 71

  3. What evidence does Darwin cite that attention affects involuntary processes?

    He cites Gratiolet's man who, by watching and counting his pulse, made one beat in six intermit; his father's patient whose irregular pulse became regular when the father entered; Holland on circulation; Laycock on local innervation; belief that peristaltic movements are influenced by attention; and gland effects like salivation at the thought of acid fruit.

    Chapter 71

  4. What does Darwin conclude about attention and sensation?

    Attention to a sense increases its acuteness, and habitual close attention may permanently improve it, as with blind people's hearing and touch, with possible inheritance. Pain is increased by attending to it, and Brodie believed pain may be felt in any part closely attended. Müller's analogy compares attention to sensory cells with will acting on motor cells.

    Chapter 71

Section 724 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what mechanism explains blushing via attention to appearance?

    The author argues that earnest attention to our personal appearance, especially the face, stimulates the sensory part of the sensorium. This transmits nerve-force to the vaso-motor centre, relaxing facial capillaries so more blood flows in. Through nerve-force passing along accustomed channels and inherited habit over generations, this response became habitual, so even a suspicion of others' depreciation suffices to relax the capillaries without conscious thought about the face.

    Chapter 72

  2. Why does Darwin claim a man reflecting on a crime in solitude does not blush?

    The author argues blushing is excited not by guilt itself but by the thought that others think us guilty. A man stung by conscience over a crime committed in solitude does not blush, yet he will blush under vivid recollection of a detected fault or one committed before others. The degree of blushing relates closely to regard for those who detected, witnessed, or suspected the fault.

    Chapter 72

  3. What does Darwin say about blushing in dark-skinned races and blind persons?

    The author argues it is not surprising that dark-coloured races should blush, though no change of colour is visible in their skins, since the underlying process still occurs. Likewise, from the principle of inheritance, it is not surprising that persons born blind should blush. These cases support his hypothesis that blushing depends on inherited vaso-motor response to attention, not on visible colour change or on having seen blushing in others.

    Chapter 72

  4. Why does Darwin say shyness is the most powerful cause of blushing?

    The author argues shyness relates to the presence and opinion of others, and the shy are always more or less self-conscious. Since blushing arises when we believe others are depreciating us, shyness directly triggers that self-attention. He adds that personal remarks particularly cause blushing, and that breaches of conventional rules insisted on by equals or superiors often cause more intense blushes than a detected crime.

    Chapter 72

Section 734 cards
  1. What are Darwin's three leading principles of expression?

    Darwin names three principles: first, movements serviceable in gratifying a desire or relieving a sensation become habitual and are performed even when useless; second, antithesis, where opposite impulses produce opposite movements through lifelong habit; third, the direct action of the excited nervous system on the body, independent of will and largely of habit, with nerve-force following established connections and accustomed channels.

    Chapter 73

  2. How does Darwin explain the oblique eyebrows of grief?

    Darwin traces a complex chain: screaming infants have affected circulation and gorged eyes, so muscles around the eyes contract protectively; this became inherited. With age and culture screaming is partly repressed, but the muscles still tend to contract in slight distress. The pyramidals of the nose resist will, so the central fasciae of the frontal muscle check them, drawing up the inner eyebrows and wrinkling the forehead.

    Chapter 73

  3. What evidence does Darwin give that expressions are innate?

    Darwin argues expressive actions are innate because they are beyond control, like blushing and the heart's action in anger. Children two or three years old, and even those born blind, blush from shame; a young infant's scalp reddens from passion; infants scream from pain right after birth with the same features as later. Blind persons display expressions equally well, per Rev. R. H. Blair.

    Chapter 73

  4. Why are some emotions called exciting and others depressing?

    Darwin says exciting emotions and sensations assumed that character from habitually leading to energetic action, which indirectly affects the respiratory and circulatory systems and reacts on the brain; even when slightly felt, the whole system is disturbed by habit and association. Depressing emotions have not habitually led to energetic action except at first, as with extreme pain, fear, and grief, and ultimately cause exhaustion, so they are expressed by negative signs and prostration.

    Chapter 73

Section 744 cards
  1. What evidence does Darwin give that certain gestures are innate rather than learned?

    Darwin argues that gestures like shrugging the shoulders or raising arms with open hands in wonder are innate, inferring inheritance because they are performed by very young children, by those born blind, and by the most widely distinct races of man. He also notes new peculiar tricks associated with mental states can arise in individuals and be transmitted to offspring for more than one generation.

    Chapter 74

  2. Which gestures does Darwin think are learned like language rather than innate?

    Darwin suggests that joining uplifted hands and turning up the eyes in prayer seem learned, like words of a language. Kissing as a mark of affection is innate only insofar as it depends on pleasure from contact with a beloved person. Evidence for nodding and shaking the head as affirmation and negation is doubtful: not universal, yet too general to have arisen independently in so many races.

    Chapter 74

  3. How does Darwin explain the origin of ear-drawing in savage animals and eye-muscle contraction in gentle crying?

    Darwin infers these were originally voluntary actions for a definite object that became habitual and inherited. Animals fighting with teeth draw back ears to protect them from being torn, since animals not fighting with teeth do not express savageness this way. Eye-muscle contraction during gentle crying derives from progenitors experiencing uncomfortable eyeball sensation while screaming.

    Chapter 74

  4. Does Darwin believe any muscle developed exclusively for expression?

    Darwin finds no grounds for believing any muscle was developed or even modified exclusively for expression. Vocal and sound-producing organs are a partial exception, but he argues elsewhere they were first developed for sexual purposes, so one sex might call or charm the other. Every true inherited expressive movement, he argues, had some natural and independent origin, though once acquired it may be consciously used for communication.

    Chapter 74

Section 754 cards
  1. What evidence does Darwin give that imitation can be unconscious in humans?

    Darwin cites the "echo sign" in certain brain diseases, especially early inflammatory softening of the brain, where patients imitate without understanding every absurd gesture and every word uttered near them, even in a foreign language. He uses this to argue that a strong tendency to imitation exists in man independently of conscious will, and suggests such imitation may help spread expressive movements until they become universal.

    Chapter 75

  2. Does Darwin think expressive movements were originally intended as expressions?

    No. The author argues that movements serving as a means of expression were rarely or never primarily intended for that purpose. They were at first either of some direct use or the indirect effect of an excited sensorium, then became habitual and hereditary, sometimes performed in opposition to the will. He notes an infant screams intentionally or instinctively for food but does not intend the facial form indicating misery.

    Chapter 75

  3. What did Darwin observe in his first-born infant regarding recognizing expressions?

    Darwin watched his first-born, who could not have learned by associating with other children. He was convinced the infant understood and returned a smile too early to have learned it. At about four months odd noises and grimaces were taken as jokes; at five months he seemed to understand a compassionate tone; a few days past six months, when his nurse pretended to cry, his face instantly turned melancholy, suggesting innate sympathy.

    Chapter 75

  4. How does Darwin counter Lemoine's argument about artists and innate knowledge?

    Lemoine argued that if expression knowledge were innate, authors and artists would not find it so hard to describe and depict expressions. Darwin replies this is not valid: we can see an expression change unmistakably yet be unable to analyse it. He cites Duchenne's photographs of a true and false smile, and the young man with oblique eyebrows recognized as grief, which almost no one could describe beforehand.

    Chapter 75

Section 774 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what would happen to human expressions if respiratory and circulatory organs differed slightly?

    Darwin argues that a slight change in the structure of our respiratory and circulatory organs would make most expressions wonderfully different. A small change in head arteries and veins would likely prevent blood from accumulating in eyeballs during violent expiration, as happens in very few quadrupeds, so we would not display some of our most characteristic expressions.

    Chapter 77

  2. How does Darwin say facial expressions serve communication and welfare?

    Darwin argues expressions are important for welfare: they are the first means of communication between mother and infant, with smiles encouraging and frowns disapproving. We perceive sympathy in others through expression, mitigating suffering and increasing pleasure, strengthening mutual good feeling. Expressions also give vividness and energy to spoken words and reveal thoughts and intentions more truly than words, which may be falsified.

    Chapter 77

  3. What does Darwin say about free expression versus repression of emotion?

    Darwin argues that free expression of an emotion by outward signs intensifies it, while repression of outward signs softens emotions. He who gives way to violent gestures increases his rage; he who does not control signs of fear experiences greater fear; and he who remains passive when overwhelmed with grief loses his best chance of recovering elasticity of mind. Even simulating an emotion tends to arouse it.

    Chapter 77

  4. What does Darwin conclude about the study of expression and its value?

    Darwin concludes that studying expression confirms to a limited extent that man derives from a lower animal form and supports the specific or sub-specific unity of races, though he says such confirmation was hardly needed. He argues expression is certainly important for mankind's welfare, and understanding the origin of expressions deserves further attention, especially from an able physiologist.

    Chapter 77

Section 783 cards
  1. What sleeping habit did Galton report across three generations?

    Galton described a gentleman who, in sound sleep, slowly raised his right arm and dropped the wrist onto the bridge of his nose. His son, who married a woman ignorant of the incident, showed the same trick, and his daughter inherited a modified form. Galton stressed it occurred only in sound sleep, so imitation was impossible.

    Chapter 78

  2. How does Huxley distinguish natural and artificial reflex actions?

    Huxley remarks that reflex actions proper to the spinal cord are natural, but with the help of the brain—that is, through habit—an infinity of artificial reflex actions may be acquired. Virchow admits some reflex actions can hardly be distinguished from instincts, and some instincts cannot be distinguished from inherited habits.

    Chapter 78

  3. Why did Darwin cite his 1838 notes in the Spencer footnote?

    Darwin states that to avoid being accused of trespassing on Mr. Spencer's domain, he announced in the Descent of Man that he had already written part of the present volume, his first manuscript notes on expression bearing the date 1838. He also notes Spencer's later essays and final conclusions in the Principles of Psychology (1872).

    Chapter 78

Section 794 cards
  1. What does Dr. Maudsley say reflex movements can do under disease?

    Dr. Maudsley remarks that reflex movements which commonly effect a useful end may, under the changed circumstances of disease, do great mischief, becoming even the occasion of violent suffering and of a most painful death. The author cites this in a footnote on the physiology of reflex action.

    Chapter 79

  2. What did Müller say happens to spinal nerves when feelings are very intense?

    Müller remarks that when the feelings are very intense, all the spinal nerves become affected to the extent of imperfect paralysis, or the excitement of trembling of the whole body. The author cites this in a footnote on the bodily effects of strong emotion.

    Chapter 79

  3. What did Dr. Crichton Browne record about a man who received a fortune by telegram?

    Dr. Crichton Browne records a young man of strongly nervous temperament who, on hearing by telegram that a fortune had been bequeathed him, became pale, then exhilarated and restless. He later staggered, laughed uproariously, sang in public streets, and vomited; no alcohol was detected. He then slept heavily and awoke well except for headache, nausea, and prostration.

    Chapter 79

  4. What does Mrs. Oliphant's passage say about grief and voluntary exertion?

    The author quotes Mrs. Oliphant's novel 'Miss Majoribanks': prostration follows with collapsed muscles and dulled eyes, and as associated habit no longer prompts action, friends urge the sufferer to voluntary exertion rather than silent, motionless grief. Exertion stimulates the heart, which reacts on the brain and aids the mind to bear its heavy load.

    Chapter 79

Section 803 cards
  1. How does Darwin explain snakes' terrifying appearance and sounds besides warning?

    Citing accounts collected by Mrs. Barber on South African snakes and by Lawson on the North American rattlesnake, Darwin suggests it does not seem improbable that the terrific appearance of snakes and the sounds they produce may also serve in procuring prey, by paralysing—or, as it is sometimes called, fascinating—smaller animals.

    Chapter 80

  2. Which animals does Dr. Günther say destroy cobras?

    Dr. Günther remarks, in 'Reptiles of British India,' on the destruction of cobras by the ichneumon or herpestes, and, while the cobras are young, by the jungle-fowl. Darwin adds that it is well known the peacock also eagerly kills snakes.

    Chapter 80

  3. What does Dr. R. Brown report about pigs and snakes?

    Dr. R. Brown reports in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society (1871) that as soon as a pig sees a snake it rushes upon it, and that a snake makes off immediately on the appearance of a pig. Darwin cites this in discussing the enemies and warning signals of snakes.

    Chapter 80

Section 814 cards
  1. What did Darwin's test with Duchenne's half-smiling, half-crying face reveal?

    Darwin showed Duchenne's galvanized figure (Album, fig. 48), with one half smiling and the other beginning to cry. Nineteen of twenty-one observers instantly recognized the smiling half, but only six of twenty-one recognized the crying half, accepting terms like grief or misery; fifteen were ludicrously mistaken, guessing fun, satisfaction, cunning, or disgust. Darwin inferred something was wrong with the expression, though some may have been misled by not expecting an old man to cry.

    Chapter 81

  2. How did observers respond to Duchenne's figure with one oblique eyebrow?

    In Duchenne's fig. 49, the muscles of half the face were galvanized to show a man beginning to cry, with the eyebrow on that side rendered oblique, which is characteristic of misery. Fourteen of twenty-three observers answered correctly with sorrow, distress, grief, just going to cry, or endurance of pain. Nine either formed no opinion or were entirely wrong, answering cunning leer, jocund, looking at an intense light, or looking at a distant object.

    Chapter 81

  3. How did Darwin reconcile conflicting reports about elephants weeping?

    Tennent described elephants weeping, and a keeper in the Zoological Gardens asserted it positively; but Glenie's observations of recently captured Ceylon elephants found they screamed violently when irritated yet never contracted the muscles round the eyes or shed tears. Darwin reconciled this by supposing the captured elephants, enraged or frightened, kept their eyes open to watch their persecutors, while Tennent's weeping elephants were prostrate in despair; the Garden elephants trumpeted on command, neither alarmed nor enraged.

    Chapter 81

  4. What did Donders and Bowman observe about forcible eyelid closure and the eye?

    Donders noted that after injury, operations, and some internal inflammation, great value is placed on uniform support of closed eyelids, often increased by a bandage, while great expiratory pressure is carefully avoided. Bowman reported that in children's scrofulous ophthalmia with excessive photophobia, where light is excluded for weeks or months by forcible closure, opening the lids often revealed paleness of the eye—an absence of expected redness—which he inclined to attribute to the forcible closure.

    Chapter 81

Section 823 cards
  1. What disagreement does Darwin have with Duchenne about the corrugator muscle?

    Darwin follows the universal opinion of anatomists he consulted that the corrugator supercilii draws the eyebrows together, producing vertical furrows above the nose, or a frown. Duchenne, whom Darwin says deserves serious consideration, believes the corrugator also raises the inner corner of the eyebrows and is antagonistic to the upper inner orbicularis and pyramidalis nasi. Darwin says he cannot understand, from Henle's drawings, how the muscle could act as Duchenne describes.

    Chapter 82

  2. Why does Darwin think corrugators are more developed in humans than in anthropoid apes?

    Darwin attributes it to inherited effects of use: the corrugators are in constant action in humans under various circumstances, so they have been strengthened and modified. They help protect the eyes from being gorged with blood during violent expiratory movements, contract when the eyes close forcibly against a blow, and serve with the eyebrows as a shade against strong light, especially once early progenitors held their heads erect.

    Chapter 82

  3. What does Darwin say about the importance of the corrugator dispute for eyebrow obliquity?

    Darwin states that the exact action of the corrugator is not a point of any importance with respect to the expression caused by the obliquity of the eyebrows, nor of much importance to the theory of its origin. He notes Mr. J. Wood believes Darwin's own account of the corrugator's action is correct, and refers readers to Donders' remarks in the Archives of Medicine.

    Chapter 82

Section 834 cards
  1. According to Darwin, what causes the nostrils to dilate in an angry person?

    Darwin favors Sir C. Bell's explanation: dilation results from the sympathy, or habitual co-action, of all the respiratory muscles, so the nostrils widen even when the mouth is open. He rejects Dr. Piderit's view that dilation exists to allow free breathing with mouth closed and teeth clenched, judging Bell's account more correct.

    Chapter 83

  2. How does Darwin reinterpret Gratiolet's claim that bared teeth 'symbolically' imitate tearing and biting?

    Darwin says if Gratiolet had called the action a remnant of a habit acquired in primeval times, when semi-human progenitors fought with their teeth like gorillas and orangs, he would be more intelligible. Darwin thus recasts the symbolic gesture as a vestige of ancestral fighting behavior rather than mere symbolism.

    Chapter 83

  3. What does Ogle's observation show about nostril movement during sniffing?

    Ogle shows that when we smell carefully, we draw air in by successive rapid short sniffs rather than one deep inspiration. Watching the nostrils during this, they actually contract at each sniff rather than dilate; the contraction affects only the posterior portion of the anterior opening, not the whole opening.

    Chapter 83

  4. What etymology of 'scorn' does Darwin cite from Wedgwood, and what does it imply?

    Darwin cites Mr. Wedgwood's Dictionary of English Etymology, which states that one root of the word 'scorn' means ordure or dirt. Darwin adds that scorn implies a strong form of contempt, so a person who is scorned is treated like dirt, linking the word's origin to the emotion's degrading character.

    Chapter 83

Section 844 cards
  1. What does Darwin note about blushing in relation to women and men?

    Citing Dr. Burgess, Darwin notes that women blush more freely than men. He also records Burgess's doubt about whether idiots ever blush, and a case quoted by Vogt concerning microcephalous individuals. The chapter treats blushing as a distinct expression tied to the physiology of the face and to self-attention.

    Chapter 84

  2. Which peoples does Darwin report as possibly not blushing?

    Darwin gathers reports that some peoples may not blush, including the Kalmucks (per Bergmann, though Darwin doubts this given the Chinese), the Abyssinians (per Roth, unconfirmed by Capt. Speedy), and the Dyaks of Borneo, among whom Rajah Brooke never observed a blush; they instead say they feel the blood drawn from their faces.

    Chapter 84

  3. How does Bain explain the rice ordeal used in India?

    Bain explains the custom of subjecting criminals in India to the ordeal of a morsel of rice: the accused takes a mouthful and later spits it out. If the morsel is quite dry, the person is believed guilty, because his own evil conscience operates to paralyse the salivating organs. Darwin quotes this in a footnote.

    Chapter 84

  4. What does Darwin say about the platysma and Duchesne's explanation of it?

    Duchesne attributes contraction of the platysma to the shivering of fear (frisson de la peur), but Darwin notes that Duchesne elsewhere compares the action with what makes the hair of frightened quadrupeds stand erect, which Darwin says can hardly be considered quite correct.

    Chapter 84

Section 853 cards
  1. Which observers are cited as reporting blushing among non-European peoples?

    Darwin's footnotes cite Burgess and Waitz on blushing, Barrington (quoted by Waitz) stating that Australians of New South Wales blush, and Burgess on mulattoes blushing, with Darwin noting he received similar accounts about mulattoes. Moreau also describes a Madagascar slave woman blushing when forced to expose herself.

    Chapter 85

  2. What physical sign accompanying intense blushing do Burgess and Boerhaave note?

    Burgess (ibid. pp. 181-182) and Boerhaave, as quoted by Gratiolet, both noticed a tendency to the secretion of tears during intense blushing. Mr. Bulmer similarly speaks of the 'watery eyes' of Australian aboriginal children when ashamed, linking blushing with tearful eyes.

    Chapter 85

  3. According to Bain, what causes shyness of manners between the sexes?

    Mr. Bain, in The Emotions and the Will (1865), remarks on 'the shyness of manners which is induced between the sexes... from the influence of mutual regard, by the apprehension on either side of not standing well with the other.' Darwin cites this in a footnote on blushing and self-consciousness.

    Chapter 85

Source and licence

Text used: Project Gutenberg eBook #1227 (Public domain in the United States). Generated from the full text; cards paraphrase the source.

Version: Public domain edition. Retrieved 2026-10-31. Cards reviewed 2026-10-31.

These cards paraphrase the text for study. They are not a substitute for reading the book, and they do not reproduce long passages.

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