Culture and Logic

Culture and Logic

Subject: International Affairs/Relations

Read each of the following scenarios. Think about each response relative to other cultures. Explain the underlying cultural beliefs of each answer given. Discuss which answer seems the most logical to you personally and why.

Scenario 1

A murder has been committed and one man has been accused of the crime. You want to know whether he is guilty or innocent. You should:

Observe the accused man. Guilty people usually give themselves away in how they talk or act.

Look for physical evidence. You must find some footprint, fingerprint, or property that connects the accused man with the crime.

Find witnesses. You should talk with all who knew the accused man, were at the scene of the crime, and so forth.

Put the accused person to a test and see how he behaves. This might be a psychological test or some physical test that will give you proof.

Scenario 2

You are a very fortunate person. You are happy, healthy, and intelligent. You have a strong and loving family. Almost everything you have set out to do turns out well. You think:

I am just lucky. Some people are lucky, some people are not. I happen to be lucky.

I must be careful; good and bad tend to balance, and one of these days things will begin to go badly for me.

Life is what you make it. To be happy you have to "think happy", as happiness is all up to the individual’s attitude and frame of mind.

Somebody or some force is watching over me. Call it "God" or a guardian angel or some other supernatural power – I have such faith.

Scenario 3

You are a farmer. There has been a long dry spell throughout the growing season and there is little hope for rain anytime soon. Without rain, you and your family may starve during the next year. What s the best thing for you to do?

Pray for rain. Only God (or the gods) can deliver you from this dry spell.

Ask scientists or technical people for methods to create rain, perhaps by seeding the clouds with chemicals.

Ask the elders and wise men of the community; they have lived the longest, and they know best what to do.

You are probably being punished the dry spell is a curse. Discover the source of this curse, remove it, and the rains will come.

Write a minimum of two paragraphs for each of the three scenarios. Demonstrate your knowledge of different cultural beliefs. Use a 12-point font and double-space.