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- Pathognomy is 'a ‘semiotik’ of the transient features of someone's face or body, be it voluntary or involuntary'. Examples of this can be laughter and winking to the involuntary such as sneezing or coughing. By studying the features or expressions, there is then an attempt to infer the mental state and emotion felt by the individual. Johann Kaspar Lavater separated pathognomy from physiognomy to limit the so-called power of persons to manipulate the reception of their image in public. Such division is marked by the disassociation of gestural expressions, and volition from the legibility of moral character. Both he and his critic Georg Christoph Lichtenberg branched this term from physiognomy, which strictly focused on the static and fixed features of peoples faces and the attempt to discover the relatively enduring traits from them. Pathognomy is distinguished from physiognomy based on key differences in their features. The latter, which is concerned with the examination of an individual's soul through the analysis of his facial features, is used to predict the overall, long-term character of an individual while pathognomy is used to ascertain clues about one's current character. Physiognomy is based on the shapes of the features, and pathognomy on the motions of the features. Furthermore, physiognomy is concerned with man's disposition while pathognomy focuses on man's temporary being and attempts to reveal his current emotional state. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg states that physiognomy is often used to cover pathognomy, including both fixed and mobile facial features, but the term is overall used to distinguish and identify the characteristics of a person. Pathognomy falls under the term of non-verbal communication, which includes various expressions, ranging from gestures to tone of voice, posture and bodily cues, all of which influence the knowledge and understanding of such emotions. (en)
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