Cell phone civ

Just to prove that those philosophy courses do eventually come in handy, The New York Times offers this status report on our evolving cell-phone culture:

In the great American debate about cellphone etiquette, some of the early turf battles seem to be settled, with winners and losers falling into camps familiar from Western Civ classes. Movie theaters, funerals and libraries appear to have been carried by the cell Rousseauists, who believe the social contract forbids such things as shouting intimate details into a piece of plastic in a room full of strangers.

Most public transportation systems, on the other hand, appear to belong to the cell Hobbesians, who believe that since life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short, there's no need to give the rider engrossed in her newspaper in the seat next to you a quiet commute. Restaurants constitute a middle ground, in a state of détente. Everyone knows it's rude to use a cellphone at dinner, but civilized people do it anyway.

The workplace, though, remains unsettled territory. ...

And, the Times notes, that's where the most pitched battles are being fought.

Update, July 11: The P-I picked up the story for today's business section. In conjunction with that, SeattlePI.com is asking people to comment on the issue in our latest Sound Off.