1) Why don't you think it's physiologically therapeutic, too? As I note in another comment, we have to correct drug studies for the placebo effect because we ac

1) Why don't you think it's physiologically therapeutic, too? As I note in another comment, we have to correct drug studies for the placebo effect because we actually get better if we believe we're going to. Breathing changes can modify mood. Maybe this is incorrect, but I'm certainly not going to accept it serves no physiological function without any sort of proof. 2. I believe you are misunderstanding his point, which is, "inherently they're just a piece of social technology, a device for coordinating the tradeoff between dominance and social support." 2b) You undermine your point #1 by pointing out that the "symptoms" are arbitrary. Out of the thousands of possible responses, why tears + weeping? There are more effective signals, and other social animals acknowledge dominance & submission differently. That would suggest crying has a reason beyond social signaling. 3) I don't think exercise is a poor analogy here, but let me be direct: crying could have a direct or secondary neurological effect on mental state that doesn't have an analog in other animals.