The history of physiognomy. Development of physiognomy as a science The essence of the ancient teaching which is called physiognomy
Since ancient times, there has been an idea of the face as the “mirror of the soul.” Everything that happens to a person throughout his life affects his body and changes it. And since the face is the most susceptible to these changes, it is possible to recreate a unique picture of the personality from it.
A face is a miniature stage on which all the events of a person’s individual life from birth to death are played out.
At all times, people believed that there were general rules with the help of which one could determine a person’s spiritual qualities (innate or acquired) by external signs. This is how physiognomy arose - the doctrine of determining the character and mental properties of people by their faces.
Pythagoras is considered its creator (around 500 BC). It is known that he accepted or, on the contrary, refused to accept students only after he carefully examined them, literally from head to toe. And above the entrance to the school of Plato (427 - 347 BC) there was an inscription nailed: “Let no unmeasured enter here.”
The doctrine of facial lines was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans: Cicero (106-43 BC) wrote: “Socrates had a constantly unchanged expression, since no changes occurred in his soul that could be imprinted on his face.However, even then physiognomy was treated with skepticism.
A curious anecdote told by Cicero and other authors has survived to our times, about how a certain physiognomist Zopyrus found, according to the rules of his art, that Socrates (469-399 BC) was by nature stupid and woman-loving.
The first physiognomic treatise that has come down to us from the Greeks is attributed to Aristotle (384-322 BC). It says that physiognomists, establishing rules for determining a person’s character by his face, followed a threefold path:
- comparison of animals and people;
- observation of different races;
- observation" of the expression of feelings and passions.
- Therefore, the original principle that a beautiful face indicates a good character, and an ugly one indicates a bad one, is supplemented by Aristotle with a comparison with animals. True, the same treatise speaks of the unreliability of these rules.
Despite some mistrust, physiognomy flourished in the ancient world. The Roman historian Svetina (between 16070 BC) says that a certain fortuneteller predicted Britannica (about 41-55 BC) and Titus (39-81 BC) that they will be emperors.
The outstanding physician Hamn (about 130-200 BC) considered physiognomy very useful and necessary, but did not try to substantiate his opinion.
Intensive study begins in the 11th century AD. e. By facial expression, size, shape and color of its individual parts, they try to “determine” a person’s character.
The famous physician Avicenna (about 980-1037) writes discussions on this topic. In his “Medical Canon,” Avicenna writes not very approvingly that “face readers” claim that a person is cowardly and indecisive. However, he disagrees with this because he believes that certain facial expressions lead to a diagnosis.
From the 13th century, treatises by Albert the Great (1193-1280) and the English physician Michael Scott (died 1201) have reached us.
In the Middle Ages, physiognomy was separated from science. The reason for this was the ignorance of knowledge that disagreed with the dogmas of the church.
They looked for an omen of his future fate on a person’s face; palmists tried to find confirmation from facial features of the information read along the lines on the palm.
Almost all fortune tellers begin to consider physiognomy in connection with astrology, i.e. Every person is from birth under the influence of one or another of the constellations or planets.
A so-called planetary classification of human faces was created. For example, “people of Venus” have a bright mind, an easy and balanced character, a desire for the sublime; They are characterized by great passion; in general, they are sluggish, low-energy and self-distrustful people.
Each part of a person’s face, according to predictors, was also influenced by one or another planet, one or another sign.
The 16th and first half of the 13th centuries were especially abundant in this kind
Essays. One of them belongs to the Italian scientist, doctor, mathematician, philosopher, astrologer Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576)
He attached Melamt's treatise on birthmarks to his essay, and the essay itself was accompanied by many drawings of a human face, depicting lines on the forehead. For example, “a woman who has a cross-shaped line on her forehead will be killed by her husband, etc.”
At the same time, the Renaissance opened the way to new trends in science and art. The works of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519rj\) appear. In his works, he guessed the connection between a person’s emotional state and the nature of his facial expressions. In the 12th century, an active struggle against the prophecy of physiognostics began. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) pointed out the contradictions in the assessment of a face.
The famous French philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was skeptical about physiognomy. In his “Essays” he wrote: ... that one should not determine the inner essence by features and facial expressions... There are beautiful faces, not only proud ones , but also arrogant, not only meek, but also inexpressive." Soon the practice of physiognomists was called charlatanism.
An explosion of interest in physiognomy occurred at the end of XIII, beginning of XIVb; When K. Lavater's book "The Art of Knowing People by Their Physiognomy" was published, he expressed several original thoughts about the fact that it is possible to restore a person's physiognomy, never seen, by his actions and beliefs. He tried to apply this idea to the image of Jesus Christ. In 1775-1777 An essay on this topic with numerous illustrations was published.
Karamzin propagated the teachings of Lavater, even Pushkin paid tribute to this teaching of recognizing character by facial features. A 10-volume edition of Lavater’s works has been preserved in the Pushkin library. References also appear in Pushkin’s works. For example, in "Dubrovsky" Troekurov's servants at dinner "began to distribute plates according to rank" ... i.e. Lavater analyzes this: “Each class of society, each profession has its own physiognomy...”
Scientists such as Darwin, Pavlov and others can be attributed to the teaching of physiognomy.
A person's face is only a small part of the head, but is the main characteristic of his appearance. Of the billions of people living on Earth, you won’t find two with exactly the same faces. Academician P.K-Anokhin wrote: “The beauty of the human face, his sparkling individuality, the various manifestations of his expressive play have been a source of inspiration at all times and among all peoples.
The topic was: "Fundamentals of physiognomy".
The topic is academic and more like an institute coursework :-) Let's try to study this issue in a more interesting way. So what is PHYSIOGNOMY - the study of human expression in facial features and body shapes; in a broad sense - the art of interpreting the external appearance of observed phenomena, the doctrine of the expressive forms of any area of reality.
In eight cases out of ten, a person perceives another person based on his impression of his appearance. The most important element in a person’s physical appearance is his face, and most people in the process of communication most often concentrate their attention on the face of the interlocutor and on his eyes.
The specificity of the technology of personal charm is that a significant part of the time is devoted to the so-called face building - face building. It is here that the classic postulate of proportionality between form and content receives practical implementation.
Vivian Connell in her novel “The Golden Dream” describes the image of a girl, which reflects the information potential that a face has: “She was very young, and on her face he did not notice any traces of cosmetics or lipstick. An ancient family was visible behind her bright appearance, this could be judged by the impeccable contours of her head from the noble forehead to the graceful chin. The shape of the nose evoked the most perfect examples of antiquity. It was not possible to discern the color of the eyes - they seemed simply bright in the light of the lamps. Her entire face was sculpted to emphasize her intelligence - everything except her lips. See these lips once and it’s impossible to control your desire, like in Rosetti’s paintings, they were so fresh and tender. They belonged to no one and lived their own lives. Her whole appearance spoke of the fact that she was created for love, she just had to be grown and nurtured, like a precious rose in a spring garden.”
So, we begin to study the “construction” of appearance by understanding our face: its shape, details and their “reading” using the science of physiognomy, by clarifying the effect of facial expressions and a set of face-building exercises.
Face is one of the characteristics of a person’s appearance. Knowing the keys to reading a face and having the appropriate ability to remove information from the face of an interlocutor, you can significantly enrich your communication technology.
The inner essence of a person is “read” in a person’s face. We read about this in the poem by M. Shaffi:
There is a clear trace of history on every face,
Anger, love, suffering, years lived,
The inner essence of the owner is visible here,
These words confirm the idea that the face of every person clearly reflects troubles and joys, likes and dislikes - all the most intimate. Everyone can read this, but not everyone can understand it. Those who managed to understand this created an amazing science - physiognomy.
Physiognomists were able to identify and “read” the hidden characteristics of a person by the features and expression of the face, by its shape and details. This allows you to quickly navigate people, select the appropriate key to communication, and predict behavior patterns.
Physiognomy (in Greek: “physis” - nature and “gnosis” - knowledge, cognition) - the study or knowledge of nature.
Some scientists consider physiognomy an art, others call it a science. So, V.M. Shepel in the book “Imagelogy: Secrets of Personal Charm” writes that physiognomy is “the science of facial types, the ability to read them and identify hidden personality characteristics from their features.”
Physiognomy as the art of recognizing a person’s character by facial features and eye expression originated in Ancient China, and became widespread in the West in Ancient Greece.
Eastern experts have long been able to determine a person’s inclinations and even fate by looking at their faces. In the East, scientists believed that success in life main role the innate qualities of a person play. At the same time, external signs are the visible part of the iceberg. In physiognomy there are constitutional characteristics that are transmitted genetically. Physical signs indicate distinct character traits. Thus, physical signs characterizing methods of verbal expression are concentrated in the mouth; signs associated with logical and evaluative abilities are in the eye area. An indicator of internal self-confidence is the ratio of the length of the face to the width of the lower part of the forehead, wide nostrils and a protruding chin, etc. In other words, such bright visual indicators as the forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, chin create an informative effect on the face.
It should be said that Eastern physiognomy differs from Western physiognomy, since each culture has specific “reading keys” for a person’s appearance with subsequent interpretation of him as a person. These keys are effective if applied to representatives of the same culture, as they help to quickly and adequately perceive another person. But they are not always suitable when perceiving other cultures. So, the Vietnamese have a sign: a large mouth for men means intelligence, but the Russians do not have such an analogy. Therefore, when representatives interact different cultures the mechanism of physiognomic assessment (reduction) may fail.
Physiognomy is the study of the connections between a person’s external appearance and his belonging to a certain type of personality.
Pythagoras is considered the creator of physiognomy. He easily solved not only the problems of the exact sciences, but also the secrets of the human face, and he accepted students only after he carefully examined them from head to toe, and did not undertake to teach them mathematics if he did not see signs on their faces indicating abilities for this science.
Indirect evidence suggests that the ability to “read faces” was already possessed by the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt. But the ancient Egyptian civilization did not leave direct written evidence about this art, and now it is customary to consider the peoples of the East to be the true founders of physiognomy.
The Eastern art of determining a person’s fate by his facial features has been known for more than three thousand years. In China, its founder is considered to be a Taoist sage nicknamed Guigu Tzu (translated from Chinese as “teacher from the valley of werewolves”), who was distinguished by his amazing skill as a physiognomist. This author penned the earliest currently available classic work on fortune telling, “Detailed Analysis of the Face.” Guigu Tzu had many followers and continuers of his work.
Already during the time of Confucius, the art of reading faces Xiang Mien (according to other interpretations - Siang Min) reached its full flowering. This knowledge was considered sacred, jealously guarded by clergy as a great treasure, passed down through generations from teacher to student, and was accessible only to the highest rulers endowed with unlimited power. This situation determined the main direction of thought of ancient Eastern physiognomists. First of all, they looked for signs on the faces of their compatriots indicating that a person belonged to the ruling elite.
Historians and writers of Ancient China presented their observations in great detail. From their descriptions, one can understand that various genetic anomalies were then considered the main signs of high birth. For example, Emperor Yu (over 2000 BC) had three holes in each ear; Ruler Wen, the founder of the Zhou dynasty, had two nipples on each breast; Emperor Sun, Emperor Yao's heir, was born with two pupils in each eye. Ancient sources claim that Emperor Liu Bei and Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty had such long arms that when standing, their palms touched their knees. Emperor Tai Zhu, who ruled during the late Zhou Dynasty, had the same long arms. And the first minister of Empress Wu Izetian, Li Qiao, according to chroniclers, generally breathed through his ears.
It is now impossible to establish which of the testimonies of Chinese historians about the unusual features of their emperors is true and which is fiction. The only thing that can be said with confidence: the first direction of research of ancient Eastern physiognomists is the search for signs of higher power on faces. And those features that in the West were perceived as ugliness, worthy only of display in fair booths, in the East were considered the lot of the chosen ones, evidence of the mercy of heaven.
No less than the signs of rulers, the ancient Chinese were interested in a person’s financial capabilities and life expectancy. These three areas were considered the main ones, although in addition to them, the concept of “prediction of fate” included many other issues - health at different periods of life, relationships with justice, family arrangements, etc. Predictions of relationships with parents, children, brothers and sisters.
It was believed that a person with long, beautiful and shiny eyebrows would have many sisters and brothers with whom he would get along well, while a person with uneven thin eyebrows would have few sisters and brothers, and would quarrel with them over inheritance. Even the sequence of departure of relatives to another world was considered by Chinese physiognomists to be predetermined and readable on the face. Thus, some authors argued that if a person’s upper lip is longer than his lower, then his father will die before his mother, and if his lower lip is longer than his upper, then his mother will die first. Moreover, to confirm the truth of their statements, ancient Chinese sources, as a rule, give one or two examples, considering them quite sufficient for fundamental conclusions.
The general goal of ancient Eastern physiognomy is fortune telling. To achieve this goal, to accurately determine the path of life, EVERYTHING matters in Eastern art. In the literal sense of the word. There is not a single facial feature that does not influence the conclusions of an eastern predictor.
The teaching of physiognomists begins with an understanding of the principle of balance and proportion. Not a single facial feature should stand out strongly or fall out of the overall ensemble. That is why a sign was nailed above the entrance to Plato’s school with the inscription: “Let no unmeasured enter here.” The ancient Greeks were excellent physiognomists, so they strove to sow the eternal, good, and bright into fertile soil, which bore fruit - gifted and talented followers.
The first physiognomic treatise is attributed to Aristotle, who laid the foundations for the doctrine of the face. He believed that facial features and general expression characterize a certain type; they can be used to judge a person’s character, level of intelligence, and talent.
Aristotle’s views were shared by the great healer of the East, Avicenna, who, analyzing the patient’s facial expression, added his arguments on physiognomy when making a diagnosis. Paraphysiognomy is also important in modern research in medicine and psychiatry. In this direction, the works of C. Lombroso are interesting, who tried to identify criminals by specific facial features.
There are many physiognomic systems, the most common of them are the systems of Gall, Porta, Lombroso, Lavatera, Ledo.
Franz Joseph Gall's teachings of phrenology were criticized in the early 19th century because there was no evidence that a person's abilities were in any way reflected in the configuration of the skull. However, thanks to Gall, many previously unknown properties of the brain, the centers of speech, writing, hearing, and vision, were discovered. Gall was the first to put forward the problem of the relationship between body structure and character.
Based on Gall's phrenological treatises, the Italian physician Cesare Lombroso believed that there are areas in the human brain from which urges to murder, steal and other vicious acts emanate. He conducted observations of 3,839 people who committed various types of crimes, and examined 383 skulls of executed criminals. C. Lombroso came to the conclusion that in appearance the criminals had deviations from the norm for a modern person - a sloping forehead with prominent frontal tubercles, an inability to blush, pain tolerance, a tendency to tattoo. Lombroso's doctrine of the "inborn criminal" was rejected with contempt by subsequent generations of doctors and lawyers.
Swiss pastor, theologian and poet Johann Gaspar Lavater sketched thousands of faces and compiled them into a “bible of physiognomy.” He argued that by facial features one can recognize the inner essence of a person. Lavater believed that by the expression of the eyes and the outline of the mouth one can judge not only a person’s mood at the moment, but also his character in general. His four-volume illustrated work was very popular in its time. Catherine II showed a special interest in physiognomy and sent a Russian delegation led by her son Pavel to Lavater in Switzerland for an interview.
Let's just try to list a small part of the parameters that are subject to mandatory definition and interpretation in Chinese physiognomy. These include:
ethnic origin (what part of China is this person from);
gender and age of the person;
face type, face shape, parts of the face and their relationship;
facial structure, individual organs, their complex combination and harmony;
color of the whole face, color of individual parts, color of “points of correspondence”;
a comprehensive and detailed assessment of twenty key positions (“three parts”, “five mountains” and “twelve palaces”), the mutual influence of these positions, assessment of various combinations;
the mutual influence of the five main elements (wood, fire, water and metal), the influence of each of these elements on each of the above positions;
external resemblance to any animal;
indirect factors: voice, facial expressions, gestures;
time of year and time of day when the study is conducted;
correspondence of parts of the face and facial features to geographical points and seasons (for example, the forehead corresponds to the south and summer, the mouth to the north and winter), the relationship of these correspondences, their versatile assessment.
the correspondence of certain points on the face (there are over a hundred of them) to a certain age, which is attributed to them by ancient interpreters. Moreover, the point itself, apart from its correspondence to age, does not say anything; the predictor must GUESS its meaning, assessing what he saw as a “favorable” or “unfavorable” sign.
For each of all these signs, evaluations of values are required: a sign can be good or bad, favorable or unfavorable.
Agree, the list is impressive. Moreover, EACH of the listed parameters also has subsections. Oriental physiognomists distinguish more than forty types of eyes alone. And if we add that the meaning of any sign can change the influence on the fate of any other sign, it becomes obvious that it is not possible to simultaneously take into account and objectively evaluate all factors. The reasoning of some modern authors of physiognomic treatises that this system can be fully mastered by any persistent person seems frivolous, to say the least.
It is necessary to honestly admit that genuine Chinese physiognomy, based on the interpretations of ancient sages and obliging us to take into account the influence of “everything on everything”, is, rather, the art of fortune telling, based on innate talent, similar to the clairvoyance of Vanga and Nostradamus, and the entire above mass of signs is just a dictionary terms, the basis for predictions. “When you don’t know words, you have no way to know people,” said Confucius.
The figurative conventions of many statements, the allegorical nature and vagueness of most formulations make it possible for any pseudo-soothsayer to adjust his “predictions” to the real situation. In this case, an objective researcher cannot verify the truth of the conclusions.
It is safe to say that a person who predicts fate using the art of Chinese physiognomy either has extraordinary paranormal abilities or is a considerable charlatan.
The European reader who wants to use numerous manuals and independently understand all the intricacies of the Eastern art of physiognomy will be disappointed: the fact is that all the findings and conclusions of the ancient sages relate only to the Eastern (Chinese) type of face. These criteria do not apply to European persons.
Thus, for a European, the Eastern art of reading faces is of too little practical value, so it is enough to just get acquainted with it, without going into details.
Meanwhile, in the West, for more than two thousand years, there has been its own art of physiognomy, which is very different from the East and has its own laws and principles. It is this direction that is of practical interest to us.
Because this topic is very huge, you can study this issue in more detail yourself using the links to the sources given below.
Since ancient times, the face has attracted scientists, thinkers and researchers. Each of them sought to create his own theory. Unfortunately, all of these theories had limitations.
Physiognomy was studied by the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras(VI century BC) and scientists of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome: outstanding doctors Galen(II century BC) and Celsus(1st century BC), major thinkers Cicero(1st century BC), Pliny the Younger(1st century BC), Roman orator Quintilian(36-35 BC), etc.
Pythagoras of Samos (VI century BC)
The Greek thinker and mathematician chose his students only from people marked on their faces with a vocation and ability to study the exact sciences.
Hippocrates (460-370 BC)
The ancient Greek physician in his writings said that studying a person’s face and hands provides important information about his health and temperament. Hippocrates used physiognomy for medical diagnostic purposes. The concept of “Hippocrates mask” is still used in medicine (sunken eyes, pointed nose, bluish-pale skin covered with drops of cold sweat) - this is a characteristic expression of a patient with peritonitis (inflammation of the abdominal cavity due to damage to internal organs or as a complication of appendicitis), an important symptom of this disease.
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Aristotle is considered one of the creators of the doctrine of physiognomy; he used it to recognize the spiritual qualities of people by appearance, indicating signs of character.
In his works we read: “If people have large foreheads, then they are slow in their movements; if they have wide foreheads, then they are easily susceptible to insanity; if their foreheads are rounded or convex, then they are hot-tempered. Straight eyebrows are a sign of a gentle disposition "Cruelty of character is expressed by eyebrows that curve towards the nose. If the eyebrows converge with each other, then perhaps the main character trait is jealousy; low eyebrows are a sign of envy." Another observation by Aristotle: "...the eyes dart, then are motionless, then occupy the middle between one and the other; the first indicates uncertainty, the second shamelessness, the last kindness."
His contribution to the doctrine of physiognomy is as follows:
- The state and capabilities of a person’s psyche can be judged based on an assessment of the structural features of his head and face.
- Certain facial features of a person are similar to animals, which are endowed with qualities supposedly inherent to them by nature: “a thick nose, like a bull’s, means laziness, a wide nose with large nostrils, like a pig’s, means stupidity, a sharp nose like a dog’s - a sign of choleric temperament, an aquiline nose means courage, a hooked nose like a crow’s means alertness, he who has a wide mouth is brave.”
- It is possible to establish similarities between an individual person and representatives of entire races and nationalities - Ethiopians, Indians, Hittites, etc., then, after analyzing the personal characteristics of different peoples, determine individual character by the severity of the corresponding external traits.
- If a person’s face bears features characteristic of the manifestation of certain emotional states (peace, fear, passion), then it can be argued that this particular state is very characteristic of a person, in fact, it is his individual characteristic. For example, if a person’s face constantly resembles a mask of fear, then he is most likely fearful by nature.
Ibn Sina (Latin Avicena) (c. 980-1037)
Scientist, philosopher, doctor. Lived in Central Asia and Iran. The famous ancient healer made diagnoses after carefully examining the patient’s face.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
An artist, sculptor, mechanic and inventor, he personifies the versatile creative potential of the “Renaissance man” generated by the outbreak of the 15th century. in Italy with an interest in ancient culture. He was “so gifted by nature that any of his activities and thoughts produced inspired and perfect results,” wrote his first biographer Giorgio Vasari in 1550. His works, created in Florence, Milan, and France, had a huge influence on the painters of that time, and his original technical developments were many centuries ahead of technical thought.
His contributions to the understanding and depiction of faces are invaluable. Leonardo da Vinci very carefully studied facial expressions, gestures and other expressive movements of a person, noting that certain facial expressions are characteristic not only of joy or grief, hatred or sadness, but also of various nuances of these experiences. “The one who laughs does not differ from the one who cries, neither in the eyes, nor in the mouth, nor in the cheeks, but only in the fixed position of the eyebrows, which join in the one who cries, and rise in the one who laughs..., eyebrows and the mouth changes differently for different reasons for crying." The portrait of Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) he created is one of the greatest masterpieces of art. Leonardo da Vinci “depicted that delightful smile, when you look at it you feel more heavenly than earthly joy, ... looking closely, you could swear that the vein on her neck was beating,” Visari wrote. The posing lady was entertained by musicians hired by Leonardo, perhaps this explains her legendary smile.
The portrait of Mona Lisa opened up a new approach to painting a portrait through a deeper understanding of another person from his side than before. inner world, based on empathy - penetration and feeling into his experiences. When you look at the portrait for a long time, it seems that it comes to life and the lady enters into a dialogue with you.
In his “Treatise on Painting,” Leonardo da Vinci recommended that artists always have an album with them so that at any time they could make a graphic sketch of an interesting person they accidentally met. At the same time, he advised paying attention to emotional experiences people - joy, sadness, etc. and in this way accumulate visual material about the human face, about human facial expressions, which in the future can be useful when painting large canvases.
In his diaries, the artist reflects on practical techniques for quickly memorizing a face: “... about depicting a human face in profile at one time and at one glance. For this case, you need to remember the variety of four different parts of the profile - the nose, mouth, chin and forehead, . ..if you want to have ease in remembering facial expressions, then first memorize the eyes, noses, mouths, chins of many heads, as well as throats, necks and shoulders. Let's take the case that there are ten types of noses, they are good because speech "It's about the profile. At the front there are eleven types of noses, and you will also find differences in other parts."
Leonardo da Vinci was the first to provide a correct explanation of the connection between stable facial expression and repeated movements of the facial muscles. For his research in the field of physiognomy, he chose old people, since their wrinkles and changes in facial features spoke of the suffering and feelings they had experienced.
Leonardo da Vinci in his work always remained true to his main principle - experience and observation.
Giovanni Battista della Porte (1538-1615)
This is a Neapolitan scientist, known as a physiognomist of high rank. In 1586, based on personal observations and knowledge of classical texts, he wrote the work “Human Physiognomy”. He had many followers, including the Swiss priest Johann Lavater (Lavater).
Johann (Gaspard) Lavater (1741-1801)
The Zurich pastor was the most famous physiognomist of his time, a talented researcher and tireless worker, possessed of logical thinking and extraordinary intuition. He owns a ten-volume work, “The Art of Knowing People by Their Physiognomy.” Like no one else, he knew how to determine the character and future of a person by his face. His work Fragments of Physiognomy, published between 1775 and 1778, was translated into various languages and used by specialists for 100 years.
Lavater first studied psychological characteristics a person, using the confessions of parishioners during confession, and then compared the data obtained with the characteristics of facial features. In this way, thousands of faces well known to him were recorded, and on the basis of this material, conclusions were drawn about the relationship between the profile shape and the internal make-up of a person. Thus, he believed that the structure and outline of the skull and forehead reflects the mental life of a person; and in the structure of the facial muscles, the outlines of the nose and cheeks - moral and emotional life; and the fold of the mouth and line of the jaw communicate sensual, animal qualities.
Lavater, proving the possibility of determining character traits by the relief of the face and the structure of the skull, claimed to be the founder of a new science: “Faces are as accessible to reading as books are, the only difference is that they are read in a short time and deceive us less.”
Not everyone agreed with him. Thus, assessing Lavater’s teaching, physicist, writer, critic of the Enlightenment era Georg Lichtenberg (1742-1799) noted that “this theory represents in psychology the same thing as a very well-known theory in physics, explaining the light of the northern lights by the shine of herring scales "You can try to draw yourself a night watchman based on his voice. At the same time, you are often so mistaken that it is difficult to refrain from laughing when you discover your mistake. Is physiognomy really something else?"
Lavater made a number of mistakes that were unacceptable for a serious researcher, and as a result his works aroused serious criticism:
- the subject of his observations was not all facial features in their interaction, but mainly his Bottom part and the so-called facial profile;
- no systematic method was derived;
- objective patterns were replaced by the subjective opinion of the author.
Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828)
A well-known Austrian doctor and anatomist, he studied the brain a lot; he was the first to express the position that the features of thinking should be associated with the features of the structure of the brain. In the cerebral hemispheres he wanted to find "centers" for all our abilities.
Gall created detailed maps brain, where he indicated the places of concentration of a person’s moral and intellectual qualities. He argued that by the shape and location of the bulges and depressions on the skull one can determine the character, inclinations and mental capacity person. Using special measurements, he determined the “bumps of ability” for music, poetry and painting, the “bumps” of ambition, stinginess, the courage of maternal love, etc.
He argued that the mind, emotions, and feelings are controlled by strictly defined areas of the brain. Their increase indicates the severity of this quality and is accompanied by the appearance of a bulge in the corresponding place on the skull. If there is no bulge in the right place, it means that the person does not possess this ability. By the “bumps” on the skull, Gall and his students judged not only the predominance of certain mental or moral aspirations of a given person, but also predicted the future life of the child and tried to influence his upbringing.
Thus, the doctrine was formed - “phrenology” (from the Greek phrem- mind). The word "phrenology" was introduced by Gall's student Spurzheim, and Gall himself was against this term and used the terms "cephaloscopy" (from the Greek kephale- head), "cranioscopy" (from Greek kranion- skull), "craniology".
Gall's theory quickly gained popularity. Writers and poets, including our Russians, referred to it in their works. I. S. Turgenev in the novel “Fathers and Sons,” describing the office of Bazarov’s father, the district doctor, mentions “a small plaster head, divided into numbered quadrangles.” M. Yu. Lermontov, describing Dr. Werner on behalf of Pechorin, notes: “He cut his hair into a comb, and the irregularities of his skull, exposed in this way, would strike a phrenologist with a strange interweaving of opposing inclinations.”
A.S. Pushkin, in a letter to Anna Kern from 1825, suggests that she has a “highly developed organ of flight.” In the poem "Count Nulin" the hero unerringly finds his way by touch at night, because, according to the draft version, he "had an organ of local memory according to Gall's sign."
The organ of local memory - the organ of love for travel - was indeed listed among Gall's brain "organs" as number XIII. It manifested itself as two bulges located from the root of the nose to the middle of the forehead. Gall argued that people who have a strong local memory or sense of place have a desire to travel. He also believed that these properties are inherent primarily in birds, which is why Pushkin, turning to Anna Kern, poetically calls the organ of local memory “the organ of flight.”
In the middle of the 19th century. Gall's system was refuted: "Phrenology has long been considered a pseudoscience and is not taken seriously by anyone except enthusiastic amateurs." The famous English writer-marine painter Frederick Marryat in the novel "The Quiet Midshipman" describes the main character who is obsessed with phrenology and begins each acquaintance by feeling the lumps on the skull of his interlocutors in order to get an idea of the character. Until he reveals on the skull of applicants for the positions of a maid, nanny, and cook the bumps of honesty, the prominence of good manners, the bumps of decency, neatness, neatness, there can be no talk of hiring. This novel is a vicious satire on phrenology. It reflects the views prevailing in society - phrenology has already caused the ridicule of all sensible people. But Gall's ideas played a positive role, they:
- stimulated research into brain tissue;
- served as a source of psychomorphological direction in research on the problem of localization of functions in the brain;
- contributed to the development of neuropsychology.
The theories of I. Lavater and F. Gall played a certain role in the formation of Cesare Lombroso's theory of the innate criminal type.
Caesar (Cesare) Lombroso (1836-1909)
The Italian psychiatrist, anthropologist, criminologist, professor at the University of Pavia and later the University of Turin, Lombroso, studied the personality of the criminal.
He worked all his life as a prison doctor and devoted his research to the narrow field of physiognomy - the study and description of the type of the so-called “criminal person.” He managed to create a classification of facial features of criminals. Signs for classification Lombrazo identified by analyzing external features 3839 people who committed crimes and 383 skulls of executed criminals. Lombroso suggested that criminals not only differ in appearance from normal people, but also carry rudimentary (residual) signs of primitive man. Among them, he identified: irregular skull structure, facial asymmetry, dull sensitivity, inability to blush, tendency to tattoo, etc. Guided by these signs, Lombroso believed that it was possible not only to establish the type of criminal person in general, but also to find traits inherent in certain categories of criminals, for example, thieves, murderers, rapists. Anomalies in the psyche of these people are expressed in vindictiveness, vanity, pride, weakness of reason, underdevelopment of moral feelings, peculiarities of speech and even a special writing reminiscent of the hieroglyphs of the ancients.
In the book “Criminal Man” (1876), he writes that “murderers are mostly brachycephalic (short-headed, with a large transverse diameter of the head) with powerful jaws, long ears and glassy eyes; thieves are dolichocephalic (long-headed, the longitudinal dimensions of the head significantly exceed the transverse ones) with small eyes; swindlers and arsonists are distinguished by crooked noses..."
The shape of the skull, nose, ears, hair color were observed and measured and served as the basis for the conclusion that the psychophysical characteristics of individual ancestors live in a criminal person due to the law of heredity. The results of these studies are described in the book “The Newest Advances in the Science of the Criminal” (1890), which was published in Russian in 1892 and was immediately subjected to active criticism by anthropologists. In the same year, the Brussels International Criminal Anthropological Congress was held, which revealed the inconsistency of the concept of a criminal person as a special type, and all the provisions derived from this concept (the characteristic shape of the nose and ears).
Thus, Lombroso's teachings did not find further application. Of course, it would be very easy and convenient to identify criminals by the shape of their eyebrows or nose. But the experience of criminologists shows that crimes are committed by people of very different appearance, sometimes even quite pleasant and attractive.
Lombroso's works are interesting to read, but they must be used with caution, at least for forensic purposes. Lombroso's merits:
- considering the criminal case as a branch of physiology and pathology, he for the first time transfers criminal legislation from the field of moral concepts to the field of social and natural sciences about man;
- he is considered the founder of the emergence of the anthropological school of criminal law;
- his biosociological theory is considered the basis of bioforensics.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
An English scientist, naturalist, founder of the modern theory of evolution, he showed great interest in the expressive movements of humans and higher animals. He outlined his observations and thoughts about this in his work “On the Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals” (1872). His ideas served as the basis for the creation of various reference books on psychological interpretations of facial expressions. He derived general laws governing the manifestation of emotions throughout the animal world, and created a special branch of science - comparative biology.
He wrote that "each individual preferentially contracts only certain muscles of the face, following his personal inclinations, these muscles can be more developed, and therefore the lines and wrinkles of the face formed by their usual contraction can become deeper and more prominent."
Darwin proposed that facial movements arose from useful actions, that is, what is now an expression of emotions was previously a reaction that had some adaptive significance. For example, baring your teeth when angry is a residual reaction from using them (teeth) in a fight; relaxation of the facial muscles - a smile expressing friendliness - is the opposite of muscle tension characteristic of hostile feelings; trembling is a consequence of muscle tension when mobilizing the body, for example for an attack.
According to Darwin, facial expressions are determined by innate mechanisms and depend on the species of animal. It follows that facial reactions must be closely related to certain emotions. Establishing such connections would make it possible to recognize emotions from facial expressions.
Darwin's theory is only partially correct, since facial expression is not entirely determined by innate factors. This is evidenced by numerous observations and experimental data. Much research has been devoted to finding out whether a person is able to correctly recognize the facial reactions of other people. These studies used three types of material: drawings of facial reactions, photographs of actors depicting emotions, and photographs of spontaneous expressions of emotions.
I. A. Sikorsky (1842-1919)
Russian professor, proponent of physiognomy. In 1861 he wrote the book “General Psychology with Physiognomy,” in which he gave a detailed account of physiognomy, making extensive use of literary examples and reproductions of artistic paintings.
In his other book, “Physiognomy in an Illustrated Presentation,” he gave a similar portrait of the killer: “Big ears, overdeveloped lower jaw, thick lips (weakness of conscious will), weak contraction of the facial muscles.”
In the same place, I. A. Sikorsky cites signs that distinguish a healthy person from a sick person: strong tension in the muscles of the body (straightening of the body), tension, cheerfulness, freshness, originality of mind, straightness of the eyebrows, facial expressions of joy. Opposite traits, in his opinion, will indicate weakness, fatigue, and sickness of a person.
I. M. Sechenov (1829-1905)
The creator of the Russian physiological school in the book “Reflexes of the Brain” wrote: “The mental activity of a person is expressed, as is known, by external signs, and usually all people, both simple and intelligent, and naturalists, and people who study the spirit, judge the first by the last , i.e. by external signs... Without exception, all the qualities of external manifestations of brain activity, which we characterize, for example, with the words spirituality, passion, mockery, sadness, joy, etc., are nothing more than the result of more or less shortening of any muscle group - an act, as everyone knows, is purely mechanical."
At the beginning of the 20th century. French doctor Claude Seago and his follower Louis Corman explored the connection between a person's face and his character. They created morphopsychology - an experimental method of studying faces using analogy as the main tool. It is based on knowledge of biology and direct observations. In modern morphopsychology, doctors and psychologists study temperament in detail, taking into account all factors that can affect behavior and character. Family history, climate, environment, nutrition and education are carefully analyzed.
Although traditional physiognomy still bears the stamp of quackery, old idea The connection between face and character cannot be completely rejected.
Today there is scientific evidence confirming the connection between facial features, body and some mental functions. Research in the field of embryology and genetics has confirmed that genes (it is not yet precisely established how) play a dominant role in the development of facial features. Practitioners are busy searching for distinctive physiognomic signs in cases of abnormal psychosexual behavior, nervous breakdowns and other mental conditions.
The main conclusion that can be drawn by summarizing the history of physiognomy is that a huge amount of empirical material has been accumulated, including connections between facial features and human character traits. Physiognomy based on your facial features determines not so much your actual character and possible behavior, but how you are perceived in most cases by a stranger, unprejudiced person who sees you for the first time.
History of physiognomy
Since ancient times, the human face has attracted scientists, thinkers and researchers. Each of them sought to create his own theory. Unfortunately, all these theories were imperfect.
Physiognomy was studied by the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras(VI century BC) and scientists of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome: outstanding doctors Galen(II century BC) and Celsus(1st century BC), major thinkers Cicero(1st century BC), Pliny the Younger(1st century BC), Roman orator Quintilian(1st century BC), etc.
One of the most serious works devoted to the study of the human face belongs to Aristotle. He is considered one of the creators of the doctrine of physiognomy. He used it to recognize the spiritual qualities of people by appearance. In his works, for example, there are the following words: “If people have large foreheads, then they are slow in their movements; if they have broad foreheads, they are easily susceptible to madness; if their foreheads are rounded or convex, then they are hot-tempered. Straight eyebrows are a sign of a gentle disposition. The rigidity of character is expressed by eyebrows that curve towards the nose. If the eyebrows converge with each other, then perhaps the main character trait is jealousy; low eyebrows are a sign of envy.”
Aristotle paid great attention to the eyes. Based on his observations, he made the following conclusions:
1. The state and capabilities of a person’s psyche can be judged based on an assessment of the structural features of his head and face.
2. In addition, certain features of a person’s face are similar to animals, which are endowed with qualities supposedly inherent to them by nature: “a thick nose, like a bull’s, means laziness; a wide nose with large nostrils, like a pig’s, is stupidity; a sharp nose, like a dog’s, is a sign of choleric temperament; an aquiline nose means courage; hooked, like a crow’s - alertness; He who has a wide mouth is brave.”
3. You can also establish similarities between an individual person and representatives of entire races and nationalities - Ethiopians, Indians, Hittites, etc., then, after analyzing the personal characteristics of different peoples, determine the individual character by the severity of the corresponding external features.
4. If a person’s face bears features characteristic of the manifestation of certain emotional states (peace, fear, passion), then it can be argued that this particular state is actually his individual feature. For example, if a person’s face constantly resembles a mask of fear, then he is most likely fearful by nature.
Aristotle's provisions have long served as the basis for the observations of physiognomist researchers. In the Middle Ages, like many other sciences, physiognomy “went underground,” but starting from the 15th century, it again became a subject of general interest, and was practiced by doctors, clergy, philosophers, and judges.
Contribution Leonardo da Vinci the portrayal and understanding of faces is invaluable. He studied in detail facial expressions, gestures and other expressive movements of a person, noting that certain facial expressions are characteristic not only of joy or grief, hatred or sadness, but also of various nuances of these experiences. “The one who laughs does not differ from the one who cries, neither with his eyes, nor with his mouth, nor with his cheeks, but only in the fixed position of the eyebrows, which are connected in the one who cries, and rise in the one who laughs..., eyebrows and mouth according to -change differently for different reasons for crying.” The portrait of Mona Lisa he created is one of the greatest masterpieces of art. Leonardo da Vinci “depicted that delightful smile, when you look at it you experience heavenly rather than earthly joy... looking closely, I could swear that the vein on her neck was beating,” Visari wrote. The posing lady was entertained by musicians hired by Leonardo, perhaps this explains her legendary smile.
The portrait of Mona Lisa opened up a new approach to painting through a deeper understanding of another person from his inner world than before, based on empathy - penetration into a person’s feelings and experiences. When you look at the portrait for a long time, it seems that it comes to life and the lady enters into a dialogue with you.
In his “Treatise on Painting,” Leonardo da Vinci recommended that artists always have an album with them so that at any time they could make a graphic sketch of an interesting person they accidentally met. At the same time, he advised paying attention to people’s emotional experiences - joy, sadness, etc. and in this way accumulating visual material about the human face, human facial expressions, which in the future can be useful when painting large canvases.
In his diaries, the artist reflects on practical techniques for quickly memorizing a face: “... about depicting a human face in profile at one time and at one glance. For this case, you need to memorize the variety of four different parts of the profile - nose, mouth, chin and forehead.... if you want to have ease in remembering facial expressions, then first memorize the eyes, noses, mouths, chins of many heads, as well as throats, necks and shoulders. Let's take the case that there are ten types of noses, they are good as far as the profile is concerned. There are eleven types of noses at the front, and you will also find differences in other parts.”
Leonardo da Vinci was the first to provide a correct explanation of the connection between stable facial expression and repeated movements of the facial muscles. For his research in the field of physiognomy, he chose old people, since their wrinkles and changes in facial features spoke of the suffering and feelings they had experienced.
Zurich pastor Johann (Gaspard) Lavater(XVIII) was the most famous physiognomist of his time, a talented researcher and tireless worker, possessed of logical thinking and extraordinary intuition. He owns a ten-volume work "The art of knowing people by their faces." Like no one else, he knew how to determine the character and future of a person by his face. His job "Fragments of physiognomy", published between 1775 and 1778, was translated into various languages and used by specialists different countries for many years.
Lavater studied the psychological characteristics of a person, using the confessions of parishioners in confession, and then compared the data obtained with the characteristics of facial features. In this way, thousands of people well known to him were described, and on the basis of this material, conclusions were drawn about the relationship between the profile shape and the internal make-up of a person. Thus, he believed that the structure and outline of the skull and forehead reflect the mental life of a person, and the structure of the facial muscles, the outline of the nose and cheeks reflect the moral and emotional life; the shape of the mouth and jawline reveal sensual, animal qualities.
Lavater, determining character traits by the relief of the face and the structure of the skull, claimed to be the founder of a new science: “Faces are as accessible to reading as books are, the only difference is that they are read in a short time and deceive us less.”
However, Lavater made a number of mistakes that were unacceptable for a serious researcher, and subsequently his works aroused serious criticism on the following points:
The subject of his observations was not all facial features and their totality, but mainly its lower part and the so-called facial profile.
Lack of a systematic approach.
Objective patterns were quite often replaced by the subjective opinion of the author.
Nevertheless, Lavater's ideas found their admirers. People from all over the world came to his performances and physiognomic sessions; they sent him portraits, casts and masks. They admired the physiognomist, extolled him, but at the same time they were afraid of him. For example, Count Cagliostro, an adventurer and sorcerer about whom there were rumors that he was 350 years old and could turn iron into gold, avoided meeting with him. The Austrian physician Franz Joseph Gall, who created his own interesting theory, largely shared Lavater’s views.
Franz Joseph Gall- a famous Austrian doctor and anatomist studied the brain. He was the first to express the opinion that the features of thinking should be associated with the features of the structure of the brain. In the cerebral hemispheres, he wanted to find “centers” to determine all human abilities.
Gall created detailed maps of the brain, where he indicated the places where moral and intellectual qualities of a person are concentrated. He argued that by the shape and location of the bulges and depressions on the skull one can determine the character, inclinations and mental abilities of each person. Using special measurements, he found “bumps of ability” for music, poetry and painting, “bumps” of ambition, stinginess, courage, maternal love, etc.
He argued that strictly defined areas of the brain are responsible for the mind, emotions and feelings. The severity of certain qualities can be determined by the bulges in the corresponding place on the skull. By the “bumps” on the skull, Gall and his students judged not only the predominance of certain mental or moral aspirations of a particular person, but also predicted the future life of the child and tried to give advice on what his upbringing should be like.
Thus, the doctrine of “phrenology” was formed. (from the Greek phren - mind). The word "phrenology" was introduced by a student of Gall Spurzheim, Gall himself was against this term and used the terms “cephaloscopy” (from the Greek kephale - head),"cranioscopy" (from the Greek kranion - skull), "craniology".
Gall's theory quickly gained popularity, and his ideas played a positive role, as they:
Stimulated research into brain tissue;
Served as a source of a new direction in research on the problem of localization of functions in the brain;
Contributed to the development of neuropsychology.
Therefore, the words written on Gall’s grave are quite fair: “Let us be grateful to him for what he did, and refrain from blaming him for not doing what others would not dare to do, although he paved the way along which they they'll go." Scientists have now compiled detailed maps of brain functions.
The theories of I. Lavater and F. Gall played a certain role in the formation of Cesare Lombroso's theory of the innate criminal type.
Caesar (Cesare) Lombroso- Italian psychiatrist, anthropologist, criminologist, professor at the Universities of Pavia and Turin.
All his life, Lombroso worked as a prison doctor and devoted his research to the narrow field of physiognomy - the study and description of the type of so-called "criminal person" He managed to create a classification of facial features of criminals. Lombroso identified the characteristics for classification by analyzing the appearance of 3,839 people who committed crimes and 383 skulls of executed criminals.
Lombroso suggested that criminals not only differ in appearance from normal people, but also carry vestigial (residual) signs of primitive man: irregular skull structure, facial asymmetry, dull sensitivity, inability to blush, etc. Based on these signs, Lombroso came to the conclusion that it is possible not only to establish the physiological type of a criminal person, but also to find traits inherent in certain categories of criminals, for example, thieves, murderers, rapists. Anomalies in the psyche of these people are expressed in vindictiveness, vanity, pride, weakness of reason, underdevelopment of moral feelings, peculiarities of speech and even a special writing reminiscent of the hieroglyphs of ancient peoples.
In his book “Criminal Man” (1876), he writes that “murderers for the most part brachycephals(short-headed, with a large transverse diameter of the head) with powerful jaws, long ears and glassy eyes; the thieves - dolichocephals(long-headed, the longitudinal dimensions of the head significantly exceed the transverse ones) with small eyes; swindlers and arsonists have a crooked nose...”
The shape of the skull, nose, ears, hair color were observed and measured and served as the basis for the conclusion that the psychophysical characteristics of individual ancestors live in a criminal person due to the law of heredity. The results of these studies are described in the book “The Newest Advances in the Science of the Criminal” (1890), which was published in Russian in 1892 and was immediately subjected to active criticism by anthropologists. In the same year, the Brussels International Criminal Anthropological Congress was held, at which the inconsistency of the concept of a criminal person as a special type and all the provisions derived from this concept (the characteristic shape of the nose and ears) was recognized.
Thus, Lombroso's teachings did not find further application. Of course, it would be very easy and convenient to identify criminals by the shape of their eyebrows or nose, but the experience of criminologists shows that crimes are committed by people of very different appearance, sometimes even quite pleasant and attractive.
Another outstanding scientist who contributed to physiognomy is Charles Darwin. An English scientist, naturalist, and founder of the modern theory of evolution, he showed great interest in the expressive movements of humans and higher animals. He outlined his observations and conclusions in his work “On the Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals” (1872). His ideas served as the basis for the creation of various reference books on psychological interpretations of facial expressions.
He derived general laws governing the manifestation of emotions throughout the animal world, and created a special branch of science - comparative biology.
He wrote that “each individual preferentially contracts only certain muscles of the face, following his personal inclinations, these muscles can be more developed and therefore the lines and wrinkles of the face formed by their usual contraction can become deeper and more prominent.”
Darwin suggested that facial movements were formed from useful actions, that is, what is now an expression of emotion was previously a reaction that had some adaptive significance. For example, baring your teeth in anger is a residual reaction from using them (teeth) in a fight; relaxation of the facial muscles - a smile expressing friendliness - is the opposite of muscle tension characteristic of hostile feelings; trembling is a consequence of muscle tension when mobilizing the body, for example for an attack.
Facial expressions are determined by innate mechanisms and depend on the type of animal. It follows that facial reactions must be closely related to certain emotions.
Darwin's theory is only partially correct, since facial expression is not entirely determined by innate factors. This is evidenced by numerous observations and experimental data. Much research has been devoted to finding out whether a person is able to correctly recognize the facial reactions of other people. These studies used three types of material: drawings of facial reactions, photographs of actors portraying emotions, and photographs of spontaneous expressions of emotions.
The Russian follower of physiognomy was a Russian professor I. A. Sikorsky, in 1861, he wrote the book “General Psychology with Physiognomy,” in which he gave a detailed account of physiognomy, widely using literary examples and reproductions of artistic paintings.
In his other book, “Physiognomy in an Illustrated Presentation,” he gave a similar portrait of the killer: “Big ears, overdeveloped lower jaw, thick lips (weakness of conscious will), weak contraction of the facial muscles.”
In the same work, the professor cites the features that distinguish a healthy person from a sick person: strong tension in the muscles of the body (straightening of the body), tension, cheerfulness, freshness, originality of mind, straightness of the eyebrows, facial expressions of joy. Opposite traits, in his opinion, will indicate weakness, fatigue, and sickness of a person.
I. M. Sechenov- the founder of the Russian physiological school - in the book “Reflexes of the Brain” wrote: “The mental activity of a person is expressed, as is known, by external signs, and usually all people, both ordinary people, scientists, naturalists, and people who study the spirit, judge the first according to the latter, i.e., according to external signs... All, without exception, the qualities of external manifestations of brain activity, which we characterize, for example, with the words spirituality, passion, ridicule, sadness, joy, etc., are nothing more than the result of more or less shortening of any muscle group - an act, as everyone knows, is purely mechanical.”
Over the years of the existence and development of physiognomy, truly invaluable material has been accumulated, including connections between facial features and human character traits. Physiognomy determines not so much the actual character and possible behavior, but also how a person in most cases is perceived by an unfamiliar, unprejudiced person who sees him for the first time.
In the following chapters you will find all the necessary information with which you will be able to “read” faces. This skill will never be superfluous: meeting a new colleague, partner or flirting on a dating site, choosing a life partner or a new employee. What can you expect from a person? How will he behave in a given situation? Is it right for you personally? You can easily find the answer to all these questions by reading the book to the end.
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✪ Reading by appearance. Basics
✪ Physiognomy. Psychologist Natalya Kucherenko, lecture No. 08.
✪ Physiognomy training | Face and character
✪ Physiognomy in examples | Face reading
Subtitles
Etymology
The word physiognomy came into Russian from French (French physionomie, facial expression < фр. physiognomie , the art of recognizing a person’s character traits and inclinations by his facial features < лат. physiognomia < лат. physiognomonia < греч. Φυσιο + Greek γνωμονικά ).
in the 18th century the word physiognomy was used in the meaning of “the art of recognizing the character traits and inclinations of a person by his facial features,” then in the meaning of “facial expression.” Today, the face is called physiognomy, and instead of “physiognomy” the word “physiognomy” is used.
In his work “General Psychology with Physiognomy in an Illustrated Presentation” I. A. Sikorsky wrote: “The term Physiognomy comes from the Greek words<…>hence physiognomony - the art of recognizing character and inclinations by external signs; the most recognizable signs were called physiognomonica(plural of Φυσιογνωμονιχόν ). In short, from physiognomonics came physiognomy. Terms: Φυσιογνωμονίη, Φυσιογνωμονιχόν already found in Hippocrates and medieval authors<…>The term: physiognomy has finally acquired the meaning of recognizing mental properties by facial features, by hand movements and other body movements...”
Subject of study
In the general understanding, the subject of physiognomy is the psychodiagnostics of personality according to appearance, first of all, in the face. However, there were periods when different parts of the body were subjected to psychodiagnostics. IN broadly understood, the subject of physiognomy was both the face and the body, characteristic grimaces, gestures and postures, physique and posture. In ancient times, physiognomy was also applied to animals. This was first described by an unknown author in the work Φυσιογνωμονικά (English) Russian
(this work is often attributed to Aristotle), where the main signs were listed: “I will now tell you what kinds of signs are taken. They come from all kinds: they recognize character by movements, and by figure, and by color, and by facial expression, and by hairiness, and by smoothness [by absence of hair], and by voice, and by fleshiness, and by members, and throughout the entire type [type] of the body” (a 26-33). Later, kinesics, phrenology, oculesics, etc. emerged from the concept of “physiognomy”, and the term physiognomy began to be used in narrow understanding.Attempts to use physiognomy in science
Many scientists tried to prove the need for physiognomy, for example, Charles Darwin, answering the question: “What is scientific in the so-called science of physiognomy?”, wrote: “Each individual primarily contracts only certain muscles of the face, following his personal inclinations. These muscles may be more developed, and therefore the lines and wrinkles of the face formed by their normal contraction may become deeper and more visible.” But no evidence of the scientific nature of the method was obtained.
“Physiognomy, which has been studying the relationship between facial structure and character traits for thousands of years, has accumulated a huge array of observations and hypotheses, most of which, however, do not withstand serious scientific testing.”
However, attempts to use physiognomy do not stop. “For teachers and doctors, actors and politicians, businessmen and managers, the ability to instantly glean information from the face of a business partner, interlocutor, or subordinate is very useful.”
Physiognomy of the East
In China, physiognomy was considered a full-fledged branch of medicine. Xiangfa相法 (“laws of appearance”), xiangshu 相术 (“the art of fortune telling by appearance”) or xianzhenshuo 相人說 （“the art of predicting fate by appearance”） were based on the idea of the relationship between a person’s fate and character and his physical characteristics . The first mentions of physiognomy are found in the Zuozhuan chronicle (5th century BC). However, Xunzi (3rd century BC) proves both that physiognomy already existed as a system, and that its practicality was questioned (chapter Feixiang, “Denial of physiognomy”). Among the Chinese deniers of F. was also Du Mu 杜牧 (803-852).
“Qiets Kuai Tong, realizing that the fate of the Celestial Empire was in the hands of Han Xin, decided to use a cunning plan to shake [his intentions]. He began to instruct Han Xin, based on the teachings of Xiangrenshuo. He said: “I have mastered the art of guessing a person by appearance.” “How do you determine a person’s fate by their face?” - asked Han Xin. Kuai Tong answered: “The nobility and meanness of a person are reflected in the structure of his bones, worries and joys are concentrated in his appearance, accomplishments and failures are manifested in his determination. He who takes all this into account will not accomplish ten thousand deeds.” and one mistake."
“In the physiognomic practice of China, diagrams and terms were used. Physiognomic terms “5 peaks” (forehead, nose, chin and cheekbones), “3 courtyards” (“upper courtyard” - from the border of the hair to the bridge of the nose, “middle courtyard” - from the bridge of the nose to the tip of the nose and “lower courtyard” - from the tip nose to chin) etc. marking the location of parts of the face. The entire variety of parts of the face was reduced to several types: eight types of noses, six types of eyes, etc., each type was associated with a hieroglyphic analogue and a certain writing method. The contours of the face were determined by eight hieroglyphic similarities (“8 norms”): square face was compared with the hieroglyph tian (“field”), the face, expanding at the bottom, was likened to the hieroglyph feng (“wind”).”
The main points that fortune-telling practices in China focused on were abundant offspring, material well-being and career advancement. For example, “Confucian physiognomists tried, first of all, to detect the presence or absence on the face of signs of such moral qualities as respect for parents, decency, devotion to one’s master, and loyalty to authorities.” In this case, symmetry and harmony of facial features were especially important, promising a good fate. Large, regular features, a square face in men and a round face in women (a symbol of completeness, prosperity in the family) served as a sign of wealth and nobility. Any asymmetry of features, as well as a narrow forehead, small chin were called “deviations” and indicated either some kind of health disorder or foreshadowed troubles. Forehead - “if its convexity is like standing wall, he is wide, straight and tall - this is the appearance of a noble and long-lived man”; ears - “they herald longevity if they are thick and strong, raised and long”; folds near the eyes - “when they go up - wealth and happiness in a continuous sequence”; nose - “must be thick and dense - you will live long years"; chin - “if the chin is sharp or pressed down, you will not occupy an honorable position”; cheekbones - “must be prominent; if they do not protrude and are not noticeable, then the person is insignificant and will die early.”
Ancient physiognomy
Physiognomy of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Subsequent studies on physiognomy date back to the Middle Ages. During this period in Europe there was a separation of physiognomy from science. However, Ibn Sina shared the views of Aristotle and referred to his works when it came to facial expressions. At the same time, in his practice, he analyzed in detail the facial expressions of patients and added the results of observations to other arguments when making a diagnosis and assessing the patient’s condition.
20th century in the history of physiognomy
21st century in the history of physiognomy
In 2014, a group of scientists developed a mathematical model that allows one to predict a person’s SNP based on characteristic areas of the face. The accuracy of their method remained low.
Types of physiognomy
- study of nonverbal behavior (facial expressions, bodily motor skills);
- study of facial features - physiognomy, body structure.
The following types of physiognomy are also distinguished:
“We sometimes judge absolutely correctly
person on first impression, on
basis, perhaps unconsciously
based on accumulated experience, due to
associations guessing those in a person
or other qualities. That's why he immediately
becomes either attractive to us or
more antipathetic... We believe that
this is explained to a certain extent
peni intuition - unconscious on-
by the way, by that gift of guessing, not to say
I crave clairvoyance..."
Principles or basic principles of physiognomy
Physiognomy is based on the following basic principles:
- the principle of internal and external emphasizes the relationship between the visible and the invisible, indicates the relationship between form and content, physical and mental, morphological features structures of the face with the internal content of the personality;
- The principle of integrity implies that the whole is always more than the sum of its parts. The stronger the connections between different elements, the greater and better the integrity. Based on this principle, each part of the body can carry information about the whole. But this information will be somewhat incomplete. Therefore, information obtained from diagnostic data alone cannot provide a complete picture of the individual;
- the principle of subjectivity indicates that any information is read by a person only at the level to which he has grown, and with the accuracy and integrity of which he is capable due to his capabilities and competence (development);
- the principle of selectivity states that everything that corresponds to a person - his worldview, values, thinking, orientation, etc. - is perceived faster and of better quality. Subjective assessment of perception is highly dependent on the motivation, interests and needs of the person;
- The principle of balance is manifested through the balance and proportions of the physical and mental. Any imbalance indicates disharmony, internal struggle, conflict with oneself;
- The principle of relationships is fundamental when reading information. The ratio of forms, color range, hard and soft tissues and other signs of parts of the face.
“Lost in translation”, or factors that make it difficult to “read” a person
Physiognomy is an integral system, since facial features are closely interrelated. And the accuracy of the “reading” result depends on the ability to evaluate all the factors influencing the face, which, in turn, are divided into the following groups:
1
. depending on the effects on a person’s face:
“modern physiognomists believe that any change in facial features is associated with significant internal and emotional changes.” Such changes are possible by two factors or groups of influences:
2 . depending on cultural characteristics:
3 . depending on the method of identifying the psychological parameters of the human personality in the context of analytical psychology:
4 . depending on attribution errors leading to social distortion or effects of subjective social perception of a person’s face:
The reliability of physiognomic conclusions, however, is very controversial and they are based on probability percentages, which means that there are no postulates in correlations between appearance and personality. The idea that, knowing certain patterns, one can make an accurate conclusion about the character stranger by the face is one of the typical misconceptions of authors of so-called popular literature. “Of course, everyone wants to learn to read a person like a book. But this is impossible: too many factors need to be taken into account to draw conclusions.” Therefore, there is not much you can say about the person you see for the first time - there is a high risk of making a mistake. “However, despite these difficulties, physiognomy has several attractive features. Her research is holistic (non-reductionist), phenomenological (experimental-descriptive) and interdisciplinary in nature.”
Visual psychosemiotics
Physiognomy can help a person analyze facial features in order to interpret them at various levels and gain a deep understanding of both his own personality and the personality of other people. You can start at any time and do it almost anywhere: on the bus, at work or on the street. However, the best way to start reading faces is at home, and the easiest way is to look in the mirror. After reading your own face, it's time to focus on other people's faces. Getting used to observing faces and associating their features with certain forms of behavior significantly increases the abilities (skills) of social communication.
All features, from the forehead to the chin, can reveal important information about the personality and health of the wearer. Visual psychosemiotics involves the division of all facial features into four groups:
- face type - face shape (profile and full face) and head, complexion, concept of classical proportions;
- hair (hair on the head, eyebrows, mustache, beard and sideburns, eyelashes);
- natural openings of the face (mouth - lips and teeth, nose, ears, eyes);
- other reliefs (bone protrusions of the face: forehead, cheekbones, chin; soft coverings: cheeks and wrinkles and features of human skin - moles).
Face type
Symmetry and asymmetry
Evidence for the presence of asymmetry in a normal human face is the method of creating an image of the same face from two left and two right halves, the rule of bilateral symmetry. Thus, two additional portraits are created with absolute symmetry, but significantly different from the original. “By comparing two photographs - “hard” and “soft”, taken from the same face, you can ... establish very interesting dependencies.”
A similar system for dividing the face is called video-computer psychoanalysis (VCPA), developed by Avtandil Anuashvili (patent No. 2201131) or “Method for determining mental state” by A.K. Zhuravlev and S.V. Mikhalchik (RF patent RU2303947 dated July 15, 2004), previously described V.V. Kupriyanov and G.V. Stovichok (1988), who believed at one time that objective facial parameters could only be expressed using scientific methods, searching for new methods for studying the face that could increase the diagnostic value of facial expressions, and solving issues of measuring individual characteristics faces, since only with their strict identification can we continue the analysis and identify the correlation between mental potencies and physical transformations of the face (phenotypology is one of the methods of application today). “Objective scientific analysis of the face is certainly possible,” scientists say. - It is necessary to use a variety of means to obtain accurate quantitative indicators. It is currently difficult to assess how great their prognostic function will be. However, disagreements are unlikely to arise regarding the advisability of posing and developing this problem. The mere prospect of differentiating a patient’s face can interest and inspire a researcher.” The fact of asymmetry in external structure the face and body of a person was known to ancient artists and sculptors of the ancient world, and was used by them to add expressiveness and spirituality to their works.
Face and head shapes
| According to V. B. Shapar about the oval of the face | Self-confidence, conservatism and determination, physical activity, softness and hardness, physical and mental energy, adventurism, authoritarianism, greed, a tendency to idealize, responsiveness, susceptibility to mood swings, intelligence, leadership |
|---|---|
| According to V.B. Shapar about the profile | Representativeness, mentality, leadership and dependence, trust and skepticism, musicality, tenacity, insight, physical activity |
| According to S. Brown about face shape | “The form of a person can provide you with vital important information about whether its owner is generally more Yin or Yang. If you find this difficult to determine... pay special attention to the forehead and jaw line." |
The face we show to the outside world plays a big role in our lives. It can make us happy and self-confident, or it can make us unhappy and cause many complexes and problems. Having its own shape, the face acquires its own individuality. On this basis, firstly, the shapes of faces in frontal view are distinguished - morphotypes, which are divided into two groups: angular and rounded, in each of which there are five main types of faces (incomplete classification compared to the ideas of E. Ledo), where “ ...“pure” types are rare.” Secondly, “according to the profile, the individual difference in the overall shape of the head is determined by the so-called facial angle.” If we draw a vertical tangent line between the central convexities of the brow ridges and the junction of the nose with the upper lip, and a horizontal line from this point to the earlobe, we can clearly distinguish three characteristic facial angles. It is worth noting that in addition to dividing head shapes by facial angle, they are also considered by the contour of the face profile: straight (flat or flattened), convex and concave faces. And there is also a teaching related to the concepts of the canon of changes I-Ching, which highlights methods of physiognomic analysis of faces in profile, namely, it identifies formal types of human faces, which are systematized through trigrams, tetragrams, pentagrams and hexagrams of the I-Ching, which is new for physiognomy . And thirdly, taking into account the constitutional characteristics of a person, 3 head shapes are distinguished:
- dolichocephalic long-headedness, which is characterized by a predominance of longitudinal dimensions over transverse ones;
- mesocephalic mid-headedness, characterized by an average ratio of transverse and longitudinal diameters;
- brachycephalic short-headedness, characterized by a relatively large transverse diameter of the head.
Complexion
Complexion also plays an important role in physiognomy. Here it is necessary to understand that we are not talking about the main colors of the skin - signs of race. Unlike Aristotle, modern physiognomists know that the skin does not have a constant color. It can vary depending on the person's condition or the area where he lives. The complexion can range from snow-white to blue-black, which is due to the amount of coloring pigment - melanin. The more it is, the darker the skin. Very often, when characterizing a person, you can hear that he has “an unhealthy complexion,” “skin like an alcoholic,” or, conversely, “a healthy color,” “skin just glows.” This also gives a peculiar characteristic...
The concept of classical proportions
Throughout human history, people have wondered how to define and measure beauty, and therefore how to make it possible to recreate it. Due to differences in time, culture, ethnicity and age, it is difficult to establish universal canons of beauty. And in each new era, their own ideas about the beauty of the human face arose, new tastes and criteria for assessing beauty were born:
- ancient artists were looking for a certain geometric relationship between the parts and lines of the face, trying to find a mathematical, precise formula of beauty;
- in the 18th - 19th centuries the ideal female beauty a matte, almost sickly pallor, almond-shaped eyes and “sable” eyebrows, a tiny mouth were considered;
- in the 70s it was fashionable to wear thin eyebrows - strings;
- in the 80s, fashion changed in the opposite direction and everyone began to “grow back” the eyebrows they had not so long ago been carefully plucked.
There are numerous attempts to determine the proportions of the face, which is of interest for an objective judgment about the limits of its variability and for identifying pathological deviations. According to the ancient Greek sculptor Polycletus (5th century BC), who was an adherent of the Pythagorean theory of the golden section, the face should be 1/10 of the length of the entire body. Leonardo da Vinci and his friend Luca Pacioli come to understand the harmonious structure of the human body, subsequently the latter approaches the discovery of the laws of its construction - “divine proportions” (see figure). For example, according to Da Vinci's notes, the distance between the eyes is equal to the length of the eye. The length of the palpebral fissure should correspond to the distance between internal corners eyes and about one-eighth the height of the head. A line drawn through the inner edge of the iris of the eye outlines the border of the mouth. These classical artistic proportions of the human face are mentioned by Leonardo da Vinci in the text to Vitruvian Man. The principle of the “golden section” was also used by the German scientist K. G. Stratz (1858-1924) in his work “Beauty female body"(1905). However, there are still discussions about facial beauty: what it is and what its parameters are. (unavailable link since 05/11/2013).
Scientists add that people with ideal facial proportions are likely to have good health.
Hairline
Hair is present on almost the entire surface of the skin, in particular on the head. And from the point of view of physiognomy, each sign of hair can tell a lot about how a person wants to express himself and be perceived by other people, but also how he perceives the world around him. They are considered according to the following criteria:
- by type - dry and oily hair, normal and mixed, soft and hard, thick and thin, healthy and depleted;
- by appearance - vellus, bristly (eyebrows, eyelashes) and long hair (head hair, beard, mustache);
- by color - blonde or blond (fair-haired, fair-haired, golden, etc.), red, brown-haired, brunette;
- by shape - smooth or straight hair, wavy and curly;
- by perception - in physiognomy, the general perception of the shape of different hair is important - hairstyle.
Natural facial openings
Anatomical examination of the face involves the identification of two muscle groups: masticatory, facial and suboccipital. The determination of the functions of the latter depended on the direction of the muscle bundles and it was important to determine what is associated with the tension of the skin at the site of fixation of the bundles of a particular muscle to it. It turned out that the ends of the muscles are attached to the skin located around the circumference of one of the natural openings on the face, namely around the orbits of the nose, mouth, ears and eyes. Thus, the facial muscles either expand the entrance to these natural openings, or narrow it, or at least somehow change its shape. These muscles determine facial expressions, which is good addition studying physiognomy in a complex.
Eyes
One of the most beautiful components of the face is a person's eyes. People associate the eyes with the “mirror of the soul” (although this Latin saying is associated with the face, not the eyes, expressed by Cicero: “Imago animi vultus est”), physiognomists say that it is the “mirror of thought,” but the ancient Eastern (in in particular, Chinese physiognomists called them “the mirror of the mind.” Russian poet and satirist Don Aminado subtly noted:
"Eyes are the mirror of the soul".
The eyes are the most difficult to study and interpret. From the point of view of evaluating the eyes as a material structure (shape, cut, color, etc.), a spiritual evaluative component is also acceptable to them - gaze. The eyes have always been used to determine the internal experiences of people, perhaps that is why ancient Chinese physiognomists, like Japanese ones, consider the eyes to be the most important part of the face, and if they are “favorable”, then this circumstance outweighs the negative properties of all other parts of the face. To evaluate the eyes, a number of signs are used: size, fit, profiling and length of the palpebral fissures, gaze, focusing, color (a classification of psychological types has been developed according to the criterion of eye color, which is not strictly scientific in nature and arose mainly on the basis of everyday observations. Therefore, it should be used carefully, preferably in combination with the interpretation of other signs), the nature of the structure of the eye sockets, eyelids, their folds and eyelashes. “And that’s not all. There are more than a hundred such characteristics." An essential addition to the characteristics of the eyes are the eyebrows.
Mouth
In determining the character and destiny of a person, the mouth is one of the main ones that supports the life of a person, since the body receives water and food through the mouth. The mouth acts as a speech apparatus and expresses a person’s thoughts, revealing his character and, finally, the size and shape of the mouth help determine a person’s internal energy. The characteristics of the mouth come from the following features - lips, teeth and smile.
Dentist William Rogers (La Buccomancie, 1851) wrote: “Show me only the lips of your face, and I will tell you what it was, what it is, and what it will be.”
Nose
“... there are ten types of noses: straight
washed, humpbacked, dented, with a bulge
above or below the middle, orli-
long, smooth, snub-nosed, rounded and
spicy; they are good because speech
It's about the profile. There are noses in the front
eleven types: smooth, thick in
middle, thin in the middle, thick
with a strong end and a thin place of attachment
length, with a thin end and a thick month-
attachment volume, with wide and narrow
wings of the nose, with high and low
nostrils, open or blocked
the end of the nose. And you will also find...
differences in other parts..."
Ash. I, 26 v. XV century
The architectural center of the face is the nose, consisting of a bone base and cartilaginous tissues that form the nasal cavity. All newborns, regardless of hereditary characteristics, have small and snub noses, but subsequently acquire dominant characteristics: hump, flatness, shape, length and others. Noses are characterized by shape, width, length, tip, bridge, wings of the nose, base and back. The variety of all possible combinations of these features is easily traced in everyday life and has ethnic and geographical features of structure and configuration. Physiognomists consider the angle formed by the nose and upper lip to be an important indicator of the level of intelligence. In this regard, they distinguish - a right angle, with a horizontal line of the nostrils; the nose is located at an obtuse angle in relation to the upper lip, raised slightly up and down, forming an acute angle. Among other signs, the nostrils are significant. In general, analyzing the nose, how important detail face, one should compare its size, shape and other features with the entire face, and only in comparison can one speak of harmony, proportionality and proportionality.
The nose is characterized by pronounced age-related changes, which manifest themselves in an increase in the severity of the dorsum, drooping of its base and tip of the nose, and a decrease in the nasolabial angle against the background of deepening of the nasolabial folds.
Bone protrusions of the face
The skeleton of the face represents its foundation. Therefore, no matter how developed the muscles and subcutaneous fatty tissue of the face are, its appearance is largely determined by the design and shape of the bone base. Excellent for study and systematization in modern physiognomy are such ethnogeographical shapes on faces, formed over millennia, as the frontal bones, brow ridges and cheekbones. In male cheekbones, you can consider 4 typical options: wide cheekbones, narrow cheekbones, round cheekbones, sharp cheekbones. Based on the systematization of N. Aliyev, a specialist in modern physiognomy, it is possible to identify new psychotypes that were not described in earlier works, or described using extremely uninformative illustrations.
Soft tissues and features of human facial skin
Applied aspects of physiognomy
Face in forensics
Identification of a person by appearance is the establishment of the identity or difference of a particular person by describing the signs of appearance according to a certain system and using special terminology. Identification of a person by appearance is possible due to the fact that each person has only his own individual set of characteristics that distinguish him from other people and even close relatives (uniqueness of shapes, sizes, etc.), as well as their relative stability (head shape, profile line, nose, cheekbones). Various displays of the features of a person’s face in the form of a description of a person’s characteristics (“verbal portrait”) and a subjective portrait - habitoscopy, plastic and graphic reconstructions of the face based on the skull are used in the practice of crime investigation and biometrics.
Face in medicine
“The human face has received close attention throughout human history. Scientific interest in the study of the human face in different periods was characterized by different specific features and intensity<…>Currently, there is a steady increase in the number of similar studies in various fields of science, starting with traditional areas of psychological science<…>, including medical and ontopsychology, in which the features and facial features of a person are used as additional assessment criteria to identify a predisposition to the formation of pathologies (L. Sondi, L. V. Kulikov, K. Tepperwein) and to differentiate psychosomatic conditions (G. Durville, A. Durville, A. Meneghetti, etc.)<…>“In this regard, “in scientific and folk medicine, several approaches have developed based on establishing connections between facial features and human diseases”:
- the psychosomatic approach studies the influence of psychological factors on the occurrence of a number of somatic diseases;
- The pathophysiognomic approach, which represents the Western view of the signs of disease, involves diagnosing diseases by external signs on a person’s face.
Face in art
In many works of art you can find images and facial expressions. Authors can convey states of mind, but not character.
Person in professional activity
see also
Explanatory Notes
Links to sources
- “Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language.” Chudinov A. N., 1910
- “Explanation of 25,000 foreign. words that have come into use in the Russian language, with the meaning of their roots.” Mikhelson A. D., 1865
- Anne Myers, Christine Hansen.. - Wadsworth, 2012. - P. 27. - 640 p. - ISBN 978-0-495-60231-6.
- I. M. Nakhov “Physiognomy as a reflection of the way of typification in ancient literature” // In collection: Living heritage of antiquity. Questions of classical philology, vol. IX. M.: Publishing house of Moscow State University, 1987. pp. 69-88
- “Dictionary of the Russian language”: In 4 volumes / USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Russian. language; Ed. A. P. Evgenieva. 2nd ed., M.: Russian language, 1984.
- Jaspers K. “General psychopathology” / K. Jaspers; Per. L. O. Akopyan. - M.: Praktika, 1997. - 1053 p.
- Social psychology: Reader: Textbook for university students / Comp. E. P. Belinskaya, O. A. Tikhomandritskaya. - M: Aspect Press, 2003. - 475 p.