The Commonality of Humanity; the Things that make us ONE! (5) – Facial Expressions and Microexpressions! (My Most Viewed Series of Articles in Dr. Eugene’s Column)



In these series, I've talked about the things that make us one – the commonalities of humanity. The first was on sleep. That was followed with the series on our common birth, our common blood and our common conscience. I’m writing these series to remind myself and others that no matter how different we may be in our actions, words, cultures, religions and the likes, there are things we all share in common. These things do not support evolutionary theories as some would claim. Rather, they support the fact that we were created by a superior intelligence, one Mind in a one God. In this article, I’ll focus on another fascinating subject, facial expressions and microexpressions.

Wikipedia.org states: ‘Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying social information among humans, but also occur in most other mammals and some other animal species.’ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_expression
Wikipedia.org also states: ‘There are seven universally recognized emotions shown through facial expressions: fear, anger, surprise, contempt, disgust, happiness, and sadness. Regardless of culture, these expressions are the same. However, the same emotion from a specific facial expression may be recognized by a culture, but the same intensity of emotion may not be perceived.’  -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_expression

The import of the above quotes is that we all share similar but not purely identical facial expressions. Irrespective of the causative emotion, we all smile or cry or laugh in the same way, whether you are black or white or brown, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, and so on. If you take a look at the picture of a man in America, a lady in Europe, a wealthy merchant in Asia, a manual worker in Africa, you can tell whether they have the appearance of a happy or sad or angry person. We share similar expressions; although, it may not be wholly identical. Some people may be more overly expressive of their emotions than others. Nonetheless, in the similarities lie our our commonalities!

Microexpressions! Wikipedia.org states: ‘A microexpression is a brief, involuntary facial expression shown on the face of humans according to emotions experienced. They usually occur in high-stakes situations, where people have something to lose or gain. Microexpressions occur when a person is consciously trying to conceal all signs of how he or she is feeling [the person knows how he or she is feeling but doesn't want you to know]… Unlike regular facial expressions, it is difficult to hide microexpression reactions. Microexpressions express the seven universal emotion... Nevertheless, in the 1990s, Paul Ekman (a renowned US psychologist) expanded his list of basic emotions, including a range of positive and negative emotions not all of which are encoded in facial muscles. These emotions are amusement, contempt, embarrassment, excitement, guilt, pride, relief, satisfaction, pleasure, and shame. (Microexpressions) are very brief in duration, lasting only 1/25 to 1/15 of a second.’ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microexpression

Essentially, microexpressions are very transient facial or body movements that betray the true intent of someone. It can help tell when someone is lying or withholding an information. Paul Ekman has spent decades doing extensive research in this field and his works was the basis of the American TV series, ‘Lie to me.’ It’s one of the best American series that I have ever watched. In the film, the main protagonist helps to solve crimes by using microexpressions to tell when a suspect is lying. These microexpressions are universal.

This brings me to the subject of the Universality Hypothesis. This was advocated by the pioneers of the evolutionary theory. It advances the idea that since we all share basic expressions; that that in itself supports the teaching that we evolved from animals who also share some form of nonverbal means of communication. I don’t agree with that conclusion. Darwin advocated this theory in the 1870's and since then there has been research into this subject. The irony is that since that time till date there is no evidence of one living animal species transforming into another species. What’s the premise of this evolutionary hypothesis? We share similar facial expressions and since they don’t accept the teaching of creation, then it must have been an evolutionary transformation. Can creation explain the similarities in facial expressions? Of course, it does. If different products made by the same company bear some similarities, should we conclude that they evolved from one another? Is it not true and far more realistic and reasonable to say that they were made in one company with one skill set and one set of ideals and objectives? In the same vein, the similarities and commonalities of the human race can best be attributed to the handiwork of a one Mind in a one God. We don’t see the wind but we can feel its presence. We don’t see God but we can feel His essence. We were created in the same way and so we are.

©Dr Eugene’s Column (http://dreugeneojirigho.blogspot.com/)

©Dr Eugene’s Blogs (http://dreugeneoji.blogspot.com/)

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