Alcoholism

Choose two questions and answer each fully.  To be clear, you do not need to answer all four, only half. Be as thorough and specific as possible. At least 500 words each. Due Monday, August 2 by end of day.

1) Yasmin, Dustin, and Andrew are walking on York Road on Friday night when a fight breaks out among a group of young intemperate strangers. Dustin immediately springs into action, jumping in the middle of the scuffle. Andrew determines there’s no value in absorbing punches and heads home. Yasmin decides she can use her blackbelt jujitsu skills to disarm the aggressors and prevent serious harm. Who has behaved virtuously? Why he/she? Where did the other two fall short?

2) Austin, Tom, and Gavin are councilmen of the city of Winterfell’s Point. Alcoholism has become a major social ill in recent years. Austin proposes a ban on alcohol. Gavin introduces an alcohol tax to discourage sales and provide funds for the rehab clinic. Tom suggests each person has the right to determine how much he/she wants to drink and proposes repealing the remaining restrictions on the buying & selling of alcohol. Which councilmen best embodies Aristotle’s idea of a lawgiver? What is wrong with the other proposals?

3) Chris is pursuing his dream of pioneering the research and production of affordable medicine. In his spare time, he is honing his talents as a cellist, engaging in philanthropy, and maintaining an active life in the politics and culture of Winterfell’s Point. Dan is enjoying the six-figure salary of an adjunct professor. In his considerable free time, he hosts renowned parties at his mansion and travels the world during the academic winter & summer breaks. Emmett devotes his life to his family, his church, his studies, and his job. He never says no when his sister asks him for a ride or a coworker asks him to cover a shift. When not in class, studying, or working, he is usually stocking and manning his church’s food bank as well as the Winterfell’s Point shelter. Who is fulfilling the “highest good” of a human being according to Aristotle? Why not the other two?

4) The authoritarian ruling party of Chadsia has created an environment for a broken safety culture within the energy industry. Safety regulations are ignored for the sake of efficiency, problems are hidden out of fear, and mistrust pervades the various ranks. Local party chief Xan Keeling is eager to record a new year of high output from his province in hopes of gaining a promotion. Near the end of the year, local nuclear plant manager Len Wooten notes unusual activity and suspects one of the reactors is malfunctioning. Keeling, worried at reducing output without air-tight evidence, coerces Wooten to shut down any concerns about a malfunctioning reactor. Wooten caves out of fear. The plant melts down, causing an historic nuclear disaster. Who is most at fault: the ruling party, Keeling, or Wooten? Why? Which vices did each of them exhibit?