I have been thinking recently, about the phrase "bless you." The phrase originates from the idea that when a person sneezes their soul escapes through their nose (some say it is because your heart skips a beat.) So my question is, since we now know that your heart doesn't skip a beat and i believe that most people don't think your soul leaks out of your nose when you sneeze. With that said, why do we all still say "bless you"? Is it just some human compulsion to be 'nice' to other people, even strangers? Or is it just something we have been taught that has developed into a human-kind neurosis?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Etyology
I have been thinking recently, about the phrase "bless you." The phrase originates from the idea that when a person sneezes their soul escapes through their nose (some say it is because your heart skips a beat.) So my question is, since we now know that your heart doesn't skip a beat and i believe that most people don't think your soul leaks out of your nose when you sneeze. With that said, why do we all still say "bless you"? Is it just some human compulsion to be 'nice' to other people, even strangers? Or is it just something we have been taught that has developed into a human-kind neurosis?
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A lot of the conversations people have are meaningless. "How are you", "have a nice day", "nice to see you", "are you a turtle", "what's up", etc. All that's really happening is an affirmation of the social contract. "Bless you" falls into that category.
It makes me think of Newspeak from _1984_.
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