As we all know, according to the creation myth in Genesis 2, Adam and Eve were both originally naked, "but they were not ashamed." After they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we are told that "the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked," in other words they felt shame for the first time and 'blushed' at their nudity, looking for something to clothe themselves with. Perhaps we should aptly rename it the story of the "first blush".
In the thirteenth chapter of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Charles Darwin, the founder of evolutionary theory, described blushing as "the most peculiar and most human of all expressions", noting that: "it would require an overwhelming amount of evidence to make us believe that any animal could blush."
Likewise the Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal has said that: "The only uniquely human expression, as Darwin already noted, is blushing. I don’t know of any instant face reddening in other primates." (Frans de Waal, The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates. New York: W. W. Norton, 2013, p. 155). He goes on to write:
The universal existence of blushing as an expression of shame appears to exist only among humans. No other species does it - yet we do so involuntarily, either from shame, guilt or embarrassment.
Why?
In the thirteenth chapter of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Charles Darwin, the founder of evolutionary theory, described blushing as "the most peculiar and most human of all expressions", noting that: "it would require an overwhelming amount of evidence to make us believe that any animal could blush."
Likewise the Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal has said that: "The only uniquely human expression, as Darwin already noted, is blushing. I don’t know of any instant face reddening in other primates." (Frans de Waal, The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates. New York: W. W. Norton, 2013, p. 155). He goes on to write:
“It's one of evolution's great mysteries, I think.
“What is the evolutionary value of blushing? It seems not to be to our advantage to do it, to involuntarily reveal our inner emotions. If we're trying to manipulate or lie, actions in furtherance of individual goals as opposed to the goals of others, blushing would not seem to be helpful. And yet everyone blushes, except the psychopath.”
“What is the evolutionary value of blushing? It seems not to be to our advantage to do it, to involuntarily reveal our inner emotions. If we're trying to manipulate or lie, actions in furtherance of individual goals as opposed to the goals of others, blushing would not seem to be helpful. And yet everyone blushes, except the psychopath.”
The universal existence of blushing as an expression of shame appears to exist only among humans. No other species does it - yet we do so involuntarily, either from shame, guilt or embarrassment.
Why?
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