I once quoted the smile of Diego-san’s robot face ( http://www.hansonrobotics.com/robot/diego-san/ , first 4 seconds) which reminds me of someone I once met.
And recently I met the most smile-ingenious living human person. My suspicion is that this person is very religious but I have no positive or negative pertinent information.
Last year, I introduced the artificial smile amongst elephants, as well as amongst smile-blind human persons ( http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2015/07/06/scientists-predict-elephant-szilamandee/#.VwZ01NDddJI ).
And I drew attention to an old man’s history-making smile and his “winning-everyone-over” soul. So the smile is a-comin’ again amongst a species justly named “the smilers.”
You should not abandon the youngest ones into kindergarten too early: they are our teachers, not the other way round.
Among philosophers, to my knowledge, this is only Henri Bergson who wrote about this important subject (laugh or smile). His book on this topic is titled "Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic." This may be of interest.
It is indeed amazing how underdeveloped the smile theory still is.
One would expect the religions to have contributed much.
In my research into nonverbal behavior, I noted that from a neuroanatomical perspective only the space above the nose on the face is wired into the limbic centers with the left side of the face more illustrative of the emotional content in a smile.
The archaic smile (eg, of sophocles) has been associated with the rise of rational self-consciousness among the ancient greeks.
I once checked and did not find a mental resonance, but I shall try again. One would also expect the religions to contribute.
Edward's remark is important to follow up, too.
Nico Frijda wrote a few pages about smiling, and in these he refers to several older publications . N.H. Frijda (1986): The emotions. Cambrdige University Press.
Thank you, yes.
There is an elaborate theory (brain equation) and also elaborate data, for example from W. Musterle and from American robot designers.
I dare here mention a more recent paper from our school, as featured in the press: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2015/07/06/scientists-predict-elephant-szilamandee/#.Vx4WHEfddJI
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Dear @Otto, this fine article belongs here, right? What makes a successful smile?
https://www.researchgate.net/blog/post/what-makes-a-successful-smile
This book contains many details: https://www.amazon.com/Neosentience-Benevolence-Engine-Bill-Seaman/dp/1841504041