Real-Life Decision Making
For people living in North America, where life-threatening diseases such as polio and tuberculosis have been nearly wiped out, it can be shocking to find out how much sickness still exists in the Third World.
"For the first time, I saw sickness and suffering on a regular basis," says John Barker, a cultural anthropologist who has done fieldwork in Papua New Guinea. "I was not prepared."
You are a cultural anthropologist researching a small community in Papua New Guinea. This is not your first visit to this community. By now, you have established strong ties with the people. In fact, on a previous visit you were made an honorary "senior man" and adopted into the community.
Now, however, you have a serious dilemma. A little boy in the village is extremely ill. He needs medical care, but his father does not want to take him to the hospital. This is very upsetting to you, since the boy clearly needs to see a doctor. But you're not sure if you should interfere.
It is extremely important that you don't do anything to offend the villagers. In this culture, sickness is sometimes seen as a sign of witchcraft or sorcery. In these cases, the people believe that the worst thing you can do is to remove a sick person from the village.
After discussing the matter with the boy's extended family, you are relieved to find that they share your opinion. Unfortunately, they are also reluctant to interfere.
Finally, you decide to use your authority as a senior man to announce that there will be a meeting to discuss the problem. Everyone agrees this is a good idea. However, on the night of the meeting, no one shows up.
By this point, the little boy is in very bad shape. You puzzle over what to do. Should you use your standing as a senior man to tell the father that the boy must go to the hospital? Or should you do nothing, telling yourself that as a cultural anthropologist your job is to study the culture, not to try and change it?
What do you do?