Do you believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutabililty premises? What social institutions and practices are based on these beliefs?
Unfortunately, I believe that rationality, perfectibility and mutuability are not realistically attainable, however should be the goals of our society. We should make only rational decision. We should lead perfect lives. We should have mutual respect in our relationships. Our countries laws and judicial system is based on rationality. Our local governments, and each of our individual choices are based on perfectibility. We all don't want to make a decision or actions which are negative. And finally mutability is actually beginning to be a much larger portion of our society. Before, when a person was arrested, it was simply about serving the jail time, and that was it, no we focus on rehabilitation as well, to improve their pyschological situation.
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I agree that people should always try to make rational decisions. Unfortunately I think that peoples’ emotions get in the way and sometimes it is hard to think logically or rationally. A jury for example may be swayed by the victim’s sad story and not think about the trial fairly. You can look at people’s varying opinions on proposition 8 as an example. People who are going to vote ‘yes’ on proposition 8 are trying to take away fundamental rights from American citizens to protect the sanctity of marriage. If they thought about it rationally, although a dictionary says marriage between a man and a woman, definitions of words change all the time. The Constitution does not say anything about women having any rights, however, we changed the meaning of “he” and “his” to include women. Rationally, marriage between a man and a woman doesn’t change anything, doesn’t affect anyone, it just makes people uncomfortable. But hey, so did inter-racial marriage a few decades ago, maybe things will change in the future.
Good Post. I understand what your saying but I do not necessarily agree with some of it. I do agree that perfectibility is not realistically attainable. But on the other hand I feel like the premise of mutability is somewhat realistic in that many people do become creatures of their environment. Many people talk about trying to get out of their old ways but because they are keep going back to that same environment they keep ending up the same way; so you have to think that if they were never placed in that type of environment to begin with would they end up differently? I really think so. High crime neighborhoods constantly have high crime, now is this because that people who are born into an environment such as this one they are more susceptible to join in "non-legal" activities? Or is is that their environment doesn't affect them there just tends to be more crime in that area.
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