About Face (Bradford Book) Book

"What is a face? Why do we have faces? What is it to `face' another person? Or, literally, to lose face, to be faceless, or de-faced? As a physician and neurologist, Jonathan Cole considers every aspect of the human face--its evolution; its exquisite delicacy of musculature and neural control; its capacity to transmit every feeling, intention, mood, state of mind; its crucial role in making contact, establishing identity and relationships; and the dire effects if any of these are defective or break down. About Face is a remarkable book, the first comprehensive exploration of the face, and a fascinating one, which combines the clinical and the human, the biological and the cultural, in an altogether original way." -- Oliver Sacks What is special about the face, and what happens when neurological conditions make expression or comprehension of the face unavailable? Through a mix of science, autobiography, case studies, and speculation, Jonathan Cole shows the importance not only of facial expressions for communication among individuals but also of facial embodiment for our sense of self. He presents, in his words, "a natural history of the face and an unnatural history of those who live without it." Drawing on work in neurology, human development, anthropology, philosophy, and the arts, the book moves from the biological evolution of the face, through the mechanics of expression and perception, to research on the importance of the face in the development of emotion and communication. The heart of the book, though, lies in the experiences of people with facial losses of various kinds. The case studies are of blind, autistic, and neurologically impaired persons; the most extreme case involves Mobius syndrome, in which individuals are born with a total inability to move their facial muscles and hence to make facial expressions. Cole suggests that it is only by studying such personal narratives of loss that we can understand facial function and something of what all our faces reflect. As the author advances a natural history and theory of the face, he reveals something of our nature and how it is defined, in part, by the face.Read More