What would you do in their place? Reality is not phenomenologically based; it’s socially created -Jon F. Nussbaum.

 You are members of a sub-committee of the Indian Parliament.  American Peace Corps workers have presented you with a concern about the homeless in New Delhi and other cities. They propose to establish homeless shelters and feeding stations funded by US money.  You have agreed to deliberate

 Do you want the project to go forward?  Why or why not?

You are “laiboni,” wise elders of the maasai people of East Africa. You are not rulers, but your advice is respected because of your great age and wisdom. Male members of the tribe, from about the age of seven, herd cattle -- a measure of wealth and status – as well as the traditional source of all sustenance. Maasai traditionally subsist primarily on a mixture of milk and of blood – drained from the neck vein without killing the cow.

Female tribe members care for the home and many children and make jewelry and ornaments for themselves, husband and children and their friends. The cattle of your tribe have developed a virus, that while it does not kill the cattle, makes their meat, blood and milk unsuitable for human consumption. How do you recommend your tribe deal with the situation?

You are members of an Eskimo tribe whose sole food supply is caribou. You kill enough animals in the spring, preserving the meat using traditional methods, to last until fall when the animals migrate south following the food supply. The custom is to kill and preserve these deer in a period of a week or two.

You have just finished the fall hunt. You discover the tribe faces a severe winter without having killed enough caribou to feed the tribe until the spring migrations. Death is certain without sufficient supplies of meat and fat. You are members of the tribal council called to consider the matter. What do you recommend?