Humans possess the most expressive faces in the animal kingdom. Adam Wilkins presents evidence ranging from the fossil record to recent findings of genetics, molecular biology, and developmental biology to reconstruct the fascinating story of how the human face evolved. Beginning with the first vertebrate faces half a billion years ago and continuing to dramatic changes among our recent human ancestors, Making Faces illuminates how the unusual characteristics of the human face came about—both the physical shape of facial features and the critical role facial expression plays in human society. Offering more than an account of morphological changes over time and space, which rely on findings from paleontology and anthropology, Wilkins also draws on comparative studies of living nonhuman species. He examines the genetic foundations of the remarkable diversity in human faces, and also shows how the evolution of the face was intimately connected to the evolution of the brain. Brain structures capable of recognizing different individuals as well as “reading” and reacting to their facial expressions led to complex social exchanges. Furthermore, the neural and muscular mechanisms that created facial expressions also allowed the development of speech, which is unique to humans. In demonstrating how the physical evolution of the human face has been inextricably intertwined with our species’ growing social complexity, Wilkins argues that it was both the product and enabler of human sociality.

One of America's great philosophers says the time has come to reform philosophy. Putnam calls upon philosophers to attend to the gap between the present condition of their subject and the human aspirations that philosophy should and once did claim to represent. His goal is to embed philosophy in social life.

Emotion in the Human Face: Guidelines for Research and an Integration of Findings reviews research findings about the link between the face and emotion and provides some guidelines for study of this complicated but intriguing phenomenon. Some of the conceptual ambiguities that have hindered research and the methodological decisions that must be made in planning research on the face and emotion are discussed. How past investigators handled these matters is presented critically, and a set of standards is offered. This book is comprised of 21 chapters and begins with an overview of questions about how the face provides information about emotion, with emphasis on evidence based on scientific research (largely in psychology). The reader is then introduced to conceptual ambiguities and methodological decisions related to research on the face-emotion connection (including sampling), along with some important research findings. In particular, emotion categories and dimensions that observers can judge on the basis of facial behavior are analyzed, and whether such judgments can be accurate. The similarities and differences in facial behavior across cultures are also considered, along with the relative contribution of facial behavior and contextual information to the judgment of emotion. This monograph is intended primarily for students of psychology, anthropology, ethology, sociology, and biology, as well as those planning or already conducting research on the face.

The authors invited more than 100 journalists worldwide to use photographs, charts and essays to explore the world of big data and its growing influence on our lives and society.

The fascinating story of our most familiar features. An intriguing and unique journey of self-discovery, exploring the evolutionary, social and psychological aspects of the face.

Explores how decision-makers can manage uncertainty that varies in both kind and severity by extending and supplementing Bayesian decision theory.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the human face, providing fascinating information from biological, cultural, and social perspectives. Our faces identify who we are—not only what we look like and what ethnicities we belong to, but they can also identify what religions we practice and what personal ideologies we have. This one-of-a-kind A–Z reference explores the ways we change, beautify, and adorn our faces to create our personalities and identities. In addition to covering the basics such as the anatomical structure and function of parts of the human face, the entries examine how the face is viewed around the world, allowing students to easily draw connections and differences between various cultures around the world. Readers will learn about a wide variety of topics, including identity in different cultures; religious beliefs; folklore; extreme beautification; the "evil eye;" scarification; facial piercing and facial tattooing masks; social views about beauty including cosmetic surgery and makeup; how gender, class and sexuality play a role in our understanding of the face; and skin, eye, mouth, nose, and ear diseases and disorders. This encyclopedia is ideal for high school and undergraduate students studying anthropology, anatomy, gender, religion, and world cultures.