Coup de grâce Coup de grâce A coup de grâce (; French for "blow of mercy") is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. Examples of "coup de grâce" include shooting the heart or head (typically the back of the skull) of a wounded, but still living, person during an execution or by humanely killing a suffering, mortally wounded soldier, in war, for whom medical aid is not available. In pre-firearms eras the wounded were finished with
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals Man and Animals", a collection of 37 papers with current research on the subject. Free e-book versions: The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals is Charles Darwin's third major work of evolutionary theory, following "On the Origin of Species" (1859) and "The Descent of Man" (1871). Originally intended as a section of "The Descent of Man", it was published separately in 1872 and concerns the biological aspects of emotional life. In this book, Darwin sets out some early ideas about behavioural genetics, and explores the animal origins of such