180 SOCIAL EVOLUTION 



of a former century would be to expose oneself to ridi- 

 cule. 



It nettles us to see a man wear a hat in doors in com- 

 pany with a lady ; it is considered rude. We would feel 

 vigorous resentment towards any man who would wear 

 a hat in a church or at a funeral. To smack one's lips 

 at the table seems to us disgusting. Yet the Indians 

 consider it the height of bad taste not to smack one's 

 lips when dining with a friend, for it would suggest that 

 the guest did not enjoy the meal. 10 Thus the criterion of 

 propriety of all human action is custom. 



"A mode of behavior that does not conform to the 

 customary manners, but differs from them in a striking 

 way, creates, on the whole, unpleasant emotions; and it 

 requires a determined effort on our part to make it clear 

 to ourselves that such behavior does not conflict with 

 moral standards. . . . The custom of habitually covering 

 parts of the body has at all times led to the strong feel- 

 ing that exposure of such parts is immodest. This feel- 

 ing of propriety is so erratic, that a costume that is 

 appropriate on one occasion may be considered oppro- 

 brious on other occasions; as, for instance, a low-cut 

 evening dress in a street-car during business hours. 

 What kind of exposure is felt as immodest depends al- 

 ways upon fashion. . . . There is no conscious reason- 

 ing why the one form is proper, the other improper; 

 but the feeling is aroused directly by the contrast with 

 the customary." 11 



If our ideas of what constitutes good manners, what is 

 proper and in good taste, are entirely due to custom, it 

 follows that where the life experiences of groups differ, 



10 Boas, The Mind of Primitive Man, p. 213. 



11 Boas, op. cit., pp. 211-212. 



