SUS1501 Assignment 5 (DETAILED ANSWERS) Semester 2 2025 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED

SUS1501 Assignment 5 (DETAILED ANSWERS) Semester 2 2025 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED Answers, guidelines, workings and references ,.. 1. BACKGROUND FACTS • “In 2024, Elon Musk's net worth increased by about ZAR 12 billion every day!” • “60% of the world’s cobalt is mined in the DRC. Significant amounts of this is mined under appalling conditions often by child labourers.” 2. INTRODUCTION (written for me by Prof Eccles) In assignments 2, 3 and 4 we have, as a group, reflected on the facts above. We debated whether it was ok for Elon Musk’s net worth to have increased by about ZAR 12 billion per day in 2024. Some of us thought this was a reflection of his business brilliance. Some of us thought that this was morally outrageous. We then debated the issue children working in appalling conditions in cobalt mines in the DRC. Although most of us thought that this was a problem, we saw how other ethical interpretations were possible. And in the final analysis we considered the possibility that these two scenarios – great wealth and great poverty – might in fact be linked. On the basis of this, we debated whether the whole picture looked ok. I think it is safe to say that most of us were left feeling a bit uneasy about things. That is all well and good. But what about me? In this short essay, I’m going to think about this question. I’ll start out by trying to figure out where I currently fit in in this picture. Then I’m going to think forward in time. Specifically, I’m going to imagine what I hope my legacy will have been over the course of the good (eudaimonic) life I have lived. In formulating this vision of a life well lived, I’m going to make reference to key virtues or excellences (arête) that I think I will need to develop in order to achieve this good life. And I’m going to think about the sort of problems that these excellences might present if taken too far or not far enough. 3. WHERE DO I FIT IN NOW? (200 words) In this section you need to reflect on where you fit into the economic landscape painted by the background facts. This reflection should include: • An evaluation of where you fit in (the site https://wid.world/simulator/ might help you to do this a bit more objectively); • A description of what this means in terms of your day-to-day life – your challenges and your privileges; and • An evaluation of what you think about this location – how this location makes you feel. This must be at least 200 words long. Answer in here 4. AT THE END OF MY LIFE …… (300 words) Here you need to ‘predict’ the legacy you think you would like to leave. You should tell us the things that you hope you will have achieved, and the things that people will remember about you when your time on earth has come to an end. What you say is entirely up to you, but the aim is for you to imagine what it will look like, at the end of the day, for you to make the claim: “I have lived a good life!” In answering this, you must make sensible reference to: 1. eudaimonia, 1. key arête that you will need to develop, and 2. the role that you imagine phronesis will have played in navigating life’s complexities. From this we need to be able to see that you have understood these key concepts in this virtue ethics space. This must be at least 300 words long. Answer in here 5. CONCLUSION (100 words) Here you need to tie things together. In particular we would like to see you reflecting on how your vision of a eudaimonic or good life ties in with the economic landscape we have contemplated in the Introduction, and your current location in it that you described in the section 3. This must be at least 100 words long. Answer in here