Week 3/19-3/25: Intercultural Comm.: Part 2

Larry Samovar, Richard Porter, and Nemi Jain hold the belief that the three basic premises of human nature. The rationality premise, perfectibility premise, and mutability premise are very difficult to believe. The rationality premise describes humans as being able to find the truth since we are logical beings. This mindset is what got us in trouble with the supplements industry. The government and the major supplements corporations brought their legalization case to the courts. The supplements companies did not want the FDA to regulate their products, and their main point was the public should be smart enough to find out if it is safe for them. Since the supplement companies gave a ton of money to the government the courts passed the law that they would regulate their own products. We as the public are suppose to have the knowledge to figure out what is in our vitamins, protein products, and weight-loss pills. Ridiculous…I think so.

The second premise is the ability to achieve goodness through effort and control. Supposedly, we are born as sinners and we need to achieve goodness. Now, let’s think of a man that has been put into jail when he was 17 years old. He had no parents growing up, did not have the opportunity to attend school, and was abused as his legal guardian. Do you think this man has the same capability to achieve goodness as someone born into a rich and well-educated family? Not believable.

Last, the mutability premise states we are shaped by our environments and to improve ourselves is to improve our physical and psychological state. We are born with our bodies, and minds. Someone who has ADD, autism, or any other brain disorder cannot alter the chemical reactions in their brain. Also, someone born with a skin disease (vitiligo) or some other physical disorder/mutation would most likely love to change that about themselves, but again- impossible.