You’ve defined ‘functionalism’ to mean the effects of the item on you rather than including its effects on others.
Excellent point. The notion that the “function” of fashion is merely one’s own comfort is incredibly strange. This kind of thinking may be the consequence of all the public fictions about status (e.g. “it’s what’s on the inside, not the outside, that counts”, “clothing is shallow, intellectual pursuits are deep”).
Thanks to these public fictions, lots of intelligent, technical people just want to opt out of clothing as a communication channel. Actually, I think it’s more “shallow” to want people to use less channels of social communication. Including the clothing channel allows a greater depth of signaling.
Rain said:
Excellent point. The notion that the “function” of fashion is merely one’s own comfort is incredibly strange. This kind of thinking may be the consequence of all the public fictions about status (e.g. “it’s what’s on the inside, not the outside, that counts”, “clothing is shallow, intellectual pursuits are deep”).
Thanks to these public fictions, lots of intelligent, technical people just want to opt out of clothing as a communication channel. Actually, I think it’s more “shallow” to want people to use less channels of social communication. Including the clothing channel allows a greater depth of signaling.