It is good manners that do not allow us to stand too close to another person, so they reduce the risk of catching any infection from the interlocutor. Educated people try to keep their house clean, and they will never touch the food from someone else’s plate. Manners not only set us apart from all the animals, but also protect against many diseases, as suggested by the expert on disease control from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr. Val Curtis.
According to Dr. Val Curtis, good manners should not be treated as an obsolete and useless code of rules about what kind of food should be eaten with this or that fork. In fact, these are the laws that make us human. Good manners are the oldest guide to prevent the spread of bacteria that give birth to the most dangerous viruses. Without compliance to good manners, the mankind could have reduced considerably in population. More intimate contacts between people spread hepatitis, syphilis and other ailments. But how should people communicate not to infect each other with diseases? This is what good manners are designed for!
In a developed society, if a person does not stick to a certain style of behavior, he/she becomes an outcast. In such a way, this person is prevented from distributing potentially dangerous infections, and that is the most powerful prevention mechanism, according to the scientist. Even now, in a society with a highly developed medicine, good manners are still very important in the socio-cultural and preventive sense.
Religious rules of conduct and religious practices govern our lives in a similar way to protect us from diseases.
