How good manners are what really make us human... and help keep us free from disease
- - An expert on disease control says manners stop us from standing so close to people
- we could spread infection
- - They also encourage us to keep ourselves and homes clean
- - Good manners stop us from biting into food already eaten
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Dr Curtis warns of the dangers of handshakes which could transfer salmonella bacteria among other unwanted infections
Manners really do maketh man – it could be that they are one of the keys to being human.
Scientists have suggested that good manners not only distinguish us from the rest of the animal kingdom, they help keep humans free of disease and underpin the co-operation that helps the world go round.
Dr Val Curtis, an expert on disease control at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: ‘Manners should be up there with fire and language as a prime candidate for what makes us human.
‘Far from being an old-fashioned set of rules about which fork to use, manners are so important that they should be up there with fire and the invention of language as a prime candidate for what makes us human.'
She argues that the first, and most ancient function of manners, is to allow bacteria and virus-ridden humans socialise without falling ill.
Writing in New Scientist, she added: ‘Although I’d like to hang around in case you have information or goods to exchange, it might be more sensible if I ran way because, to me, you are a walking bag of microbes.
'With every exhalation you might emit millions of influenza viruses and your handshake might transfer salmonella bacteria.
‘When we fail in these civilities, the disgust shown provokes shame and teaches us not to repeat the offence.
‘More intimate contact could give me hepatitis, syphilis or worse.
‘You too, of course, make the same subconscious calculation.
'So how can we get close enough to share the benefits but avoid sharing our microbes? This is the job of manners.'
Good manners stop us from standing so close to someone that we spray them with saliva as we speak.
They also encourage us to keep ourselves and our homes clean and stop us from sharing food we have already bitten into.
The consequences of bad manners don’t end with falling ill.
Dr Curtis said: ‘If I fail in my manners, you may reject and ostracise me and refuse further collaboration, denying me access to the benefits of life as a member of an intensely social species. We play out a mannerly dance every day, getting close but not too close.
Dr Curtis also suggests good manners compel us to keep clean and tidy homes which will further reduce the risk of infection
‘Worse, you may gossip about my lapses in hygiene and tarnish my reputation, denying me access to the benefits of life as a member of an intensely social species.’
Dr Curtis, who covers the topic in her book, Don’t Look, Don’t Touch, says that manners also underpin our ability to co-operate with others, with polite people seen as team players.
Her article concludes: ‘We play out a mannerly dance every day, getting close but not too close, offering tokens of goodwill but not giving away too much.
‘Yet we do the dance largely unaware of why we do it.
‘We have vague intuitions that it would be better not to disgust a guest by appearing unkempt or by offering them a dirty towel and we follow the rules of politeness that were drummed into us as children.'
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