Gourt > Society > Religion and Spirituality > Divination > Physiognomy
Physiognomy (Gk. physis, nature and gnosis, knowledge) is traditionally a folk science, based upon the idea that the study and judgement of a person's outer appearance, primarily the face, reflects their character or personality. The shortened form "fizzog" is also a slang word for "face". The term physiognomy is also used to refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain, without reference to its underlying or scientific characteristics. This article will deal with the folk science. The word was commonly used in Middle English as fisnamy or visnomy (as in the Tale of Beryn, a 15th Century sequel to the Canterbury Tales: "I knowe wele by thy fisnamy, thy kynd it were to stele"). Its validity was once widely accepted, and it was taught in universities until the time of English King Henry VIII, when scholastic leaders settled on the more erudite Greek form 'physiognomy' and began to discourage the whole concept of 'fisnamy'.
There are said to be two types of physiognomy:
- absolute predictive physiognomy, in which there are believed to be invariable 100% correlations between physical features (especially facial features) and character traits; this has been disproven
- scientific correlation physiognomy, in which there are believed to be rough statistical correlations between physical features (especially facial features) and character traits due to a person's physical preferences that are caused by corresponding character traits, such that gene mixing causes the correlations; this type of physiognomy is therefore allegedly based on genetic determinism of character. Although this type of physiognomy has generally been disproven as well, the idea has been revived as personology. The main explanation of personology, also a pseudoscience, is cultural/subcultural association with specific values and habits. For example, most Communist leaders in the world have narrow eyes. This is because the physical trait of narrow eyes just happens to occupy much the same geographical range as does the cultural world-view of Communism (East Asia), not because narrow eyes cause communist ideologies. See also: Post hoc, Non sequitur.
Ancient physiognomy
Notions of the relationship between an individual's outward appearance and inner character are as old as time, and are occasionally reflected in early Greek poetry. The first indications of a developed theory appear in fifth century Athens, where one Zopyrus was said to be expert in the art. By the fourth century, the philosopher Aristotle makes frequent reference to theories of the sort, and also to some sort of literature. Aristotle's own thought was receptive, as can be seen from a passage in his Prior Analytics (2.27). More on [ Physiognomy ]
Interpersonal :: Communication
Phrenology :: Alternative
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Astrology.com.au: Face Reading - Presents an overview of the correlations between face and personality, and includes celebrity face readings.
Meta Description: [ From face reading you can learn about a person's characteristics, personality traits and innermost secrets. ]
British Dental Journal: Physiognomy and Teeth - An ethnographic study among young and middle-aged Hong Kong adults, which aimed to investigate the context of traditional beliefs in Chinese physiognomy in the Hong Kong SAR, China.
Face Frontiers - Promotes a book, 'In Your Face' by Bill Cordingley, and gives an overview of the history and uses of this practice.
Meta Description: [ Face reading expert Bill Cordingley reveals how to know anyone intimately from their face. Face reading tells you all about people’s abilities, needs, drives & habits. So you can find develop more satisfying relationships. ]
Face Reading - Julie Cox offers books and courses in Tempe, AZ. Includes biography, celebrity samples, brief history, and lecture schedule.
Meta Description: [ Julie Cox is the top expert in the art of Face Reading. Face reading teaches your to trust your impressions about the people you deal with every day. It is an incredible and accurate tool to use when you have to make a quick personality assessment. Order the book “Beginning Face Reading”, take... ]
Face Reading Online - Article and information on reading facial features. Printable guides are available for download.
Meta Description: [ Face reading, personology, or physiognomy
is the art and science of determining personality and character from the
physical structure of the face. This website teaches and advertises about
face reading for personality analysis and provides free demonstrations of
face reading: 1) for an indiv... ]
People Reading - Bill Whiteside's way of face reading and how to use it in personal and professional relationships.
Meta Description: [ Communication Skills Training and Problem Solving with Bill Whiteside. ]
Personology Research and Development Center - A school in personology which offers courses by correspondence or in class.
Physiognomy: Personology - Relates the face reading correlations documented by Dr Edward Vincent Jones to modern personology theory.
Meta Description: [ PHYSIOGNOMY: PERSONOLOGY - a fresh look at the study of human ability, potential, character and future prospects through the study of physical characteristics especially face reading. ]
The Art of Face Reading - Article exploring the process of a traditional Chinese reading.
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The Dictionary of Sensibility: Physiognomy - Examines 18th century literary references to physiognomy.
The Skeptic's Dictionary: Physiognomy - Skeptical definition of this practice.
Meta Description: [ over 400 skeptical definitions and essays
on occult, paranormal,supernatural and pseudoscientific
ideas and practices with references to the best skeptical literature ]
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