Friday, January 26, 2007

Hammurabi


Alex is studying Hammurabi´s code of law in his ancient world history class. He solved 8 problems faced by Hammurabi and then compared his solutions to those of the king. Alex wasn't as harsh as Hammurabi, however, my son is definitely not a soft-liner.


Situation:
What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house that falls and kills the owner?


Alex's initial solution:
He should be jailed and banned from being a carpenter.


Hammurabi's solution:
The builder should be put to death.


We talked about the different concepts of punishment and restitution; and Alex's amended his solution.


Alex's final solution:
The carpenter should pay for the man's funeral. He should study carpentry and build a new house for the man's widow for free. He should also take care of the widow for the rest of his life.


1 comment:

Patti said...

Alex,

I liked your final solution. It was well thought out and a better solution than Hammurabi's. With his solution the widow was still left with hardship for the rest of her life. With your solution she at least had a chance to live a comfortable life that her husband would have wanted her to have.

Keep up the good work, Grandma