Saturday, October 20, 2012

Premises

I believe in all three, to a point. The rationality premise is definitely true on some level because, through study, one can begin to understand a majority of things that they encounter, including those from other cultures. Additionally, they can discover the origin of specific things, like beliefs or even all matter at some point in the future. The rationality premise is the definite baseline for any sort of institution, including schools, universities, and scientific labs.

The perfectibility premise also has merit, seeing as it is easier to simply succumb to desires and temptations than it is to “do the right thing.” If you make a mistake, it’s sometimes easier to lie about it than to come clean, showing what you did wrong. At times, these mistakes are grave and horribly erroneous, which makes it even more difficult to admit how you did err. The perfectibility premise is the underlying belief of religious institutions.

The mutability premise is also true, which is evidenced by how easily our accent will change when exposed to a different one for a period of time. We are definitely influenced by our surroundings, as well as how those around us act at different times. When we immerse ourselves in another culture, or even in a world that does not exist, we tend to pick up different values and beliefs that they hold, and react as they would. Immersive video games as well as language and religious classes hold the mutability premise as a key point.

2 comments:

  1. I like your view on the perfectibility premise. I didn’t see it this way, but as I read your post, it makes complete sense. Regardless how much we try to achieve complete goodness through effort and control it is impossible to perfect in it. Like you said we all make mistakes. But then on the other hand, I also think if we strive towards goodness, we will get better at it and even if we make mistakes. If we are honest and admit we made a mistake and move forward from that point we are again on the path towards goodness.

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  2. Great point! Your example of how easily our accent changes when we are exposed to a different culture for a period of time rings so true of me. I've traveled quite a bit both within the United States and abroad. Since I was a very young girl, even before traveling, I intentionally would work to mimic different accents on television, in plays, etc. Back then there was not the diversity here in the US that we see now, unless you were further back east. Now that I have traveled abroad, and spent as much as 10 weeks immersed in another culture, within just a short day or two I unconsciously have picked up on their local accent and speak accordingly. I use to attribute this to having study dialect when I was younger; I now realize in these environmental instances, it is more of the mutability premise bearing true than my younger years spent studying dialects for theater.

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