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Cliff Judge wrote:
Is it that these practices are not inside the logical container described as "japanese clothes, etiquette, and other things?" Because if they are, and they have some benefits which can be discussed, then I believe it is quite relevant to the OP's question.
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Quote:
Christopher Li wrote:
I don't think he's really discussing the benefits so much as he's arguing that certain specific practices are essential and cannot be omitted. Conflating benefits with that confuses the issue because it's possible to get the very same benefits with very different clothing, etiquette and whatever.
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That's fine but it is natural to look at the benefits a practice provides when examining why it has been maintained within a system of cultural transmission, because you assume some process of evolution would have eroded it otherwise. There are something like eight completely different types of eyeball in the animal kingdom but that doesn't nullify the argument (Darwinian or Lamarckian) that we Humans have eyes because they allow us to see.