Physiognomy

Physiognomy is the study of the face and body and the belief that physical features indicate human traits, such as character and personality. In many cases, certain facial features, such as a large nose, are associated with negative traits, while large eyes, for example, are said to indicate positive traits, such as sincerity. Physiognomy has been largely discredited and is regarded as a pseudoscience. It has been used in the past to justify discrimination against certain races and cultures.

The term comes from the Greek physiognomonia, which has as its roots physis, meaning "nature," and gnomon, or "one who knows."

Background

The idea that the outward appearance of an individual reflects inherent traits is ancient. Early practitioners busied themselves with interpreting birthmarks, moles, and other things regarded as abnormalities.

Physiognomy became of great interest to the ancient Greeks. Works once attributed to Aristotle, but now credited to Pseudo-Aristotle, note that if a horseman can evaluate a horse simply by studying its appearance, it follows that an individual can assess a person's disposition in the same way. The Greek studies of physiognomy evaluated individuals based on zoological, ethnical, and pathognomical judgments. These refer to animal resemblance, one's race, and interpretation of facial expression. Pseudo-Aristotle studied body shapes, colors, gait, hair, limbs, and voices in determining disposition. In many cases, the findings seemed to discern animal attributes in similar features—a sharp nose, like a dog, indicated the person was excitable, while a nose that was thick and round tipped, like a pig, indicated an insensitive person. Greek physiognomy also attributed positive characteristics, such as generosity and strength, to men, while women were credited with greed, envy, and other negative characteristics. It was also tied to medical beliefs of the time, including the ideas of the four humors—blood, phlegm, bile, and black bile—which were thought to aid in diagnosing conditions.

Homer and Hippocrates also wrote about physiognomy, as did scholars in various cultures around the world, including Arabia and China. Throughout classical literature, the heroes are traditionally described as strong and attractive, while the villains are ugly and often deformed. In many cases, creators of popular culture continue to treat characters in this way.

Physiognomy has often been linked to forms of divination, such as astrology. Such ideas were common during the Middle Ages, when many believed that a person's temperament was influenced by the stars. In many cases, the lines of the face were read in the same way that a palmist would read lines of a hand. As Greek and Arabic works were translated during the twelfth century, their ideas about physiognomy were of great interest to Europeans. In 1585, Italian physiognomist Giambattista della Porta published a work illustrating the believed connection between animal and human characteristics. The book placed physiognomy in the field of natural science rather than astrology. The work was republished at least twenty times, and the illustrations were widely shared for several centuries.

By the seventeenth century, scientists had developed a greater understanding of human anatomy, and physiognomy was less studied. Interest resurged during the eighteenth century, as researchers tried to understand human nature and detect criminal tendencies. Advocates promoted the idea of studying children's features to predict future criminal behavior. Among the characteristics they claimed indicated criminal tendencies were heavy jaws and pointy heads.

Anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach was among the scientists of the late eighteenth century who believed that the races had different physical characteristics. He differed with many of his contemporaries, however, in that he believed living in different regions gradually changed the physical features of the various groups then identified as races, with one exception. Blumenbach believed that Jews all around the world maintained a specific skull shape as well as certain features, including a large nose and square chin.

Many authors of various eras have used physiognomy in creating their characters. For example, Geoffrey Chaucer's pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales often had features that represent their temperaments. The Miller, a peasant, has a round, red face and a wart on his nose. The Pardoner is false, and his floppy hair indicates this to the reader. The Wife of Bath is described as having a gap in her teeth, which was believed to indicate sexuality.

Overview

Criminologists were not the only group to try to read character in physical features. In the American South, scientists including medical doctors believed that features such as large noses indicated the racial inferiority of blacks and often used the pseudoscience to justify and defend slavery.

During the early twentieth century, a German ideology of racial purity also promoted physiognomy as proof of one group's superiority. Adolf Hitler rose to power on the ideal that the Aryan master race was superior to all others. He promoted the ideal as tall, blond, and blue-eyed. He also used his power to single out those he considered enemy and inferior. Chief among his targets were the Jewish people as well as Roma, or Gypsies.

The Nazis recruited scientists to help define Hitler's policies. They developed instruments to measure the size of people's heads as well as features. Aryan heads were deemed to be narrow, while Jewish heads were allegedly round. The scientists declared standards for the proper Aryan nose size and shape, the distance between the eyes, the size of the ears, height, and other characteristics. They created color scales for skin, eye, and hair color.

Teachers in German schools were instructed to take measurements of students' skull size and nose length, and record their eye and hair color. Students were classified as to whether they conformed to Hitler's ideal of an Aryan race. Printed propaganda taught children that Jews had hooked noses like the number 6, puffy lips, thick eyelids, and dishonest expressions.

Bibliography

Aristotle. "Physiognomics." Minor Works. Translated by W.S. Hett, Harvard UP, 2000.

Efron, John, et al. The Jews: A History. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2016.

Jenkinson, Jodie. "Face Facts: A History of Physiognomy from Ancient Mesopotamia to the End of the 19th Century." Journal of Biocommunication, vol. 24, no. 3, Feb. 1997, pp. 2–7.

"Nazi Racism." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007679. Accessed 16 Dec. 2016.

"Persecution of Roma (Gypsies) in Prewar Germany, 1933–1939." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005482. Accessed 16 Dec. 2016.

"Physiognomy." Oxford Companion to the Body. Edited by Colin Blakemore and Sheila Jennett, Oxford UP, 2001.

"Physiognomy, Photography and the Criminal Look." New Zealand Police Museum, www.police.govt.nz/about-us/history/museum/exhibitions/suspicious-looking-19th-century-mug-shots/physiognomy-photography-criminal-look. Accessed 16 Dec. 2016.

Sharp, Gwen. "Physiognomy: Faces, Bodies, and the 'Science' of Human Character." The Society Pages, 30 Jan. 2015, YPERLINK "https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2015/01/30/helpful-guide-to-human-character/" thesocietypages.org/socimages/2015/01/30/helpful-guide-to-human-character/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2016.

Simon, Matt. "Fantastically Wrong: The Silly Theory That Almost Kept Darwin from Going on His Famous Voyage." Wired, 21 Jan. 2015, www.wired.com/2015/01/fantastically-wrong-physiognomy/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2016.

Wade, Lisa. "Nazi Racialization of the Jews." The Society Pages, 8 May 2015, thesocietypages.org/socimages/2015/05/08/nazi-racialization-of-the-jews/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2016.