Discussion Project -- Castaways

                                               

 

 

            In this exercise you are to imagine that you have been thrown into a certain situation (one of the scenarios described below), and then negotiate a "social contract" (an agreement about how you will manage your affairs).   In some cases I will arbitrarily assign certain roles to various members of the group.

 

Scenario #1

 

You were all passengers on a ship that sank in a storm.  Now you are in a lifeboat that has been drifting for several days.  You know that you are in a part of the world where the few islands are uninhabited and where ships seldom go.  You do not expect to be rescued for many years, if at all.  You have sighted an island and are paddling towards it.  You have no idea what resources that island will contain or what sorts of skills will be needed in order to make use of those resources.  You do know that some of your group members are skilled at fishing, some at agriculture; some are very clever with their hands, others are quite strong, others can run very fast, and still others are very good at finding edible plants in the wild.  But you don't know whether any or all of these abilities will be useful under the circumstances you will find on the island.   One of your members has made the following speech:  "Before we land, I think we should agree about how we will operate when we get there.  Is it going to be share and share alike, or is it going to be each person for him or herself, or what?"  What agreement do you think should be made?  Why?

 

 

Scenario #2

 

Your group has been shipwrecked on an uninhabited island.  You do not expect to be rescued for many years, if at all.  The only food that you have been able to find is some fruit and coconuts that grow on tall skinny trees with rather smooth bark.  Only two of your group members have the strength and agility that it takes to climb the trees and get down the fruit and coconuts.  For them, it is fairly strenuous, but not very time consuming to get a regular supply of food ample for all of you.  The only fresh water on the island is located at some distance from the shore and from the fruit trees.  So it must be carried back in coconut shells or hollowed out logs.  Firewood must also be gathered from some distance. This work (getting water and wood) is not too difficult for any of you, but it is tedious and time consuming.  Work out an agreement about how you will manage your affairs.