Intensive Study 5 When you're eating among other people, you don't raise your voice; it's just one example of the unwritten rules we live by. When you consider it, you recognize that those rules probably govern our lives on a more absolute basis than the ones you could find if you looked in the law books. the customs that govern us are what make a civilization. There would be chaos without them and yet it's not at all clear why -even in our disintegrating society-we obey them5 When you're eating among other people, you don't raise your voice; it's just one example of the unwritten rules we live by. When you consider it, you recognize that those rules probably govern our lives on a more absolute basis than the ones you could find if you looked in the law books. The customs that govern us are what make a civilization. There would be chaos without them, and yet it's not at all clear why — even in our disintegrating society — we obey them. Intensive Study