Abstract

The phenomenon of human bodily expression has yet to be adequately studied even though it is central to a number of practical and interpretive endeavors in social life, in the clinic, and in the arts. A descriptive psychology which is specifically attuned to the physiognomies and expressive movements of the human body needs to be launched. It will highlight the manner in which inner moods and feelings are externalized in the human space of appearances and made available to the reactions and interpretations of both oneself and others, including the way sociality frames these psychological ascriptions. This descriptive psychology - which has a special interest in the study of personality and characterology - can then begin to assume its proper place among several disciplines, serving as a mediator between, e.g., psychiatry and aesthetics, moral philosophy and pastoral counseling, or phenomenological psychology and social work.