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Physiognomy (from the Gk. ''physis'' meaning "nature" and ''gnomon'' meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the assessment of a person's character or personality from his or her outer appearance, especially the face. The term can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain, without reference to its implied characteristics, as in the physiognomy of a plant community. Credence of such study has varied from time to time. The practice was well accepted by the ancient Greek philosophers, but fell into disrepute in the Middle Ages when practised by vagabonds and mountebanks. It was then revived and popularised by Johann Kaspar Lavater before falling from favour again in the late 19th century.〔 Physiognomy as understood in the past meets the contemporary definition of a pseudoscience. No clear evidence indicates physiognomy works, though recent studies have suggested that facial appearances do "contain a kernel of truth" about a person's personality.〔 Physiognomy is also sometimes referred to as anthroposcopy, though the expression was more common in the 19th century when the word originated.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Anthroposcopy - Define Anthroposcopy at Dictionary.com )〕 ==Ancient physiognomy== Notions of the relationship between an individual's outward appearance and inner character are historically ancient, and occasionally appear in early Greek poetry. The first indications of a developed physiognomic theory appear in fifth century BC Athens, with the works of Zopyrus (who was featured in a dialogue by Phaedo of Elis), who was said to be an expert in the art. By the fourth century BC, the philosopher Aristotle made frequent reference to theory and literature concerning the relationship of appearance to character. Aristotle was apparently receptive to such an idea, as evidenced by a passage in his ''Prior Analytics'': The first systematic physiognomic treatise to survive to the present day is a slim volume, ''Physiognomonica'' (English: ''Physiognomonics''), ascribed to Aristotle (but probably of his "school" rather than created by the philosopher himself). The volume is divided into two parts, conjectured to have been originally two separate works. The first section discusses arguments drawn from nature or other races, and concentrates on the concept of human behavior. The second section focuses on animal behavior, dividing the animal kingdom into male and female types. From these are deduced correspondences between human form and character. After Aristotle, the major extant works in physiognomy are: *Polemo of Laodicea, ''de Physiognomonia'' (second century AD), in Greek *Adamantius the Sophist, ''Physiognomonica'' (fourth century), in Greek *An anonymous Latin author ''de Phsiognomonia'' (about fourth century) Ancient Greek mathematician, astronomer, and scientist Pythagoras—who some believe originated physiognomics—once rejected a prospective follower named Cylon because, to Pythagoras, his appearance indicated bad character.〔Riedweg, Christop, ''Pythagoras: His Life,Teaching, and Influence''.〕 After inspecting Socrates, a physiognomist announced that he was given to intemperance, sensuality, and violent bursts of passion—which was so contrary to Socrates's image that his students accused the physiognomist of lying. Socrates put the issue to rest by saying that originally he was given to all these vices, but had particularly strong self-discipline. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Physiognomy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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