I believe in the rationality and mutability premises, although I only believe part of the perfectibility premise. The rationality premise is described as “the belief that most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis”. I believe that this premise requires an educated person, because they have the ability to analyze certain things. The mutability premise is described as the assumption that human behavior is shaped by environmental factors. The textbook also claims that the way to improve a person is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances. This premise is telling us that human nature is highly susceptible to social and cultural influence. The reason that I only believe part of the perfectibility premise is because the textbook stated that is it based on the old Puritan idea that humans are born in sin and have the capability to achieve goodness. I personally do not believe that we are born into sin because of my religion and how I grew up, although I do believe that humans have the capability to perfect themselves and strive for goodness. The social institutions that are based on these beliefs are our country’s democracy, trial by jury, and free enterprise.
Hey Kylie! It is interesting that you said you only believe in part of the perfectability premise. I have to admit that I had similar thoughts while reading the text. I agree that the rationality premise requires someone who is educated, because being able to analyze things is a huge part of being rational. I liked your examples from the textbook, this chapter was a little confusing to me, and it was hard to keep track of all the premises at some points. This helped to clear some of the confusion up for me. I have similar views about the perfectability premise, also because of my religion, and I think that it is important to remember the role that religion plays in these premises. Great post!
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