Humans are affected by their culture. It is argued by Larry Samovar, Richard Porter, and Nemi Jain that most Americans hold three basic beliefs about human nature. Humans are rational, perfectible, and influenced by social environment and culture. It is hard to say if most people are in fact rational, since decisions made through emotion can be very unrational. Road rage is a perfect example. I hope that most people do take time for rational evaluation and analysis of situations to make the best decisions. The rationality premise is especially important in our judiciary system, since an individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We have jurors determine the fate of a criminal in a court of law. Their belief is in the good of people, to use rationality.
The Perfectibility Premise is the idea humans can change, and achieve goodness even after committing sin. This premise seems to stand strong in religion. That with forgiveness, dedication, and a strong heart, any person is capable of being good. Especially when surrounded by a community of moral support and spiritual guidance. I believe the mutability premise which assumes behavior is shaped through environment, since your physical and psychological perception is impacted by your surroundings. An individual that is a student, surrounded with education and inspiration, will be a better rounded person than someone who just works a minimum wage dead end job. Without inspiration and goals your psychological and emotional circumstances may dwindle and leave you feeling down.
I liked how you mentioned the fact that humans are really not always rational. This premise talks about how humans use reason and logic to make sense of the world. It may be true that we are capable of logic and reason, but the fact of the matter is, we don't always use rationality in our everday lives. The illustration of road rage is clear. Road rage is totally irrational because there can be unintended consequences, such as an accident, or the other person may not even hear your screaming of obscenities from your car. Here logic and reason are not used to solve the problem, rather there is an irrational element to humans.
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