Folkways, mores, and morals

• Folkways derived from genetics
  • "The operation by which folkways are produced consists in the frequent repetition of petty acts, often by great numbers acting in concert or, at least, acting in the same way when face to face with the same need. ...It produces habit in the individual and custom in the group." (Sumner and Keller, 1927, section 19)

• An unwritten law in a society is one of the mores.
  • "mores: they are the popular habits and traditions, when they include a judgment that they are conducive to societal welfare, and when they exert a coercion on the individual to conform to them, although they are not codrdinated by any authority." (Sumner and Keller, 1927, section 20)

• The evolution of cellular-phone etiquette in the 2010s is a fine example of folkways evolving into mores.
  • Folkway 1. Many people's genetic inclinations caused them us to be fascinated by the shiny, blinking objects.
  • Folkway 2. But some people's genetics inclined them to control their cellular phones, out of respect for others around them.
  • Unwritten more 1. Eventually, people began to reflect and see folkway 2 was the better way. So it became an unwritten rule to silence your cell phone.
  • Law. Some jurisdictions toyed with actually making cell-phone silencing, or cell-signal blockers, a legal requirement, though in the main it appears this has not gone beyond "house rules" in some place, a light form of private-enterprise lawmaking for the benefit of customers and profit.