Premises

I would say that I believe in two out of the three premises outlined in our text. I believe the rationality premise and the mutability premise, but I am doubtful about the perfectibility premise. I’m not especially religious and don’t believe in ‘original sin.’ Instead, I generally believe that people are good and born without sin; however, there is always room for improvement and I think through effort and control, people can do a lot of good and become better persons.
As far as institutions and practices based on these beliefs, I think the rationality premise underlies democracy, the stock market, and even our system of traffic signs and signals as we trust people that have licenses to be able to make good decisions (such as to stop at a light when it’s red) while driving. The perfectibility premise mainly underlies most religions, but also underlies practices that are thought to enhance control and discipline such as meditation, school, and even sports. Lastly, the mutability premise underlies such things as our countries welfare program, the belief in universal health care, and public works projects.