Mores from the latin pronounced more aze infer

Mores (from the Latin, pronounced “MORE-aze”) infer judgments about right and wrong. In 19th-
century America, for example, divorce was strongly discouraged. In particular, divorced women
were typically looked down on as social pariahs or “women of easy virtue.” What were once called
“sharp business practices” inferred a moral weight attached to financial dealings. The character of
Scrooge in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol personified immoral behavior on the part of cold-hearted
bosses.
Taboos are unacceptable behaviors that lead to strong negative sanctions, including banishment
or capital punishment. The classic taboo across nearly all cultures is incest. However, there have
been odd exceptions. In ancient Egypt, for example, brother-sister marriage was mandated to
keep the bloodlines of the pharaohs untainted. The same sort of custom was also practiced in
ancient Polynesian societies.
Laws are formalized social rules subject to prosecution by agencies of law enforcement. Drunk
driving, trespassing, assault with intent to harm, robbery, theft, arson, and homicide are familiar

examples. A peculiar characteristic of laws is their tendency, in some cases, to become outmoded
while still “on the books.” For example, laws against the use of marijuana have been unraveling
over time as public sentiments regarding its uses have changed. The Era of Prohibition ended as
public sentiment replaced the largely unenforceable 18th Constitutional Amendment with the 21st
Amendment.
Language and Symbols
Language is the key to all human cultures. Without language our species could not share
observations and ideas, much less agree on collective goals that might allow a society to thrive, or
at least survive. And so, a remarkable feature of human societies is the human capacity for
inventing symbols, such as words. You might say, bees buzz, flowers bloom, and humans symbol.
Every culture uses symbols. The most important of these symbols–whether written or spoken as
words–is language. If you speak English, the word “butterfly” stands for a little piece of your world
map, specifying a kind of insect. If your native language is French, that little piece of your world
map is called a papillon ; in Spanish it’s a mariposa . All three words identify what English speakers
call butterflies. However, one’s ideas about butterflies and their symbolism are somewhat different
in French and Spanish cultures. And so, by that simple example, we see that one’s native
language represents a distinct worldview.
The linguistic symbols we use express our interpretations of the world around us. Thus, as we are
inducted into a particular culture, we must learn what words mean before they can stand for
anything. For example, the English word “entropy” means nothing until it is explained to us in one
way or another. The German expression, Geműtlichkeit –roughly meaning comfortable
togetherness in a social setting (such as a beer hall)–has no English equivalent. It’s an expression
that’s only fully meaningful for people whose native language is German.
Beyond language, written or spoken, symbols can be almost anything that conveys meaning.