E13. "Community Of Peers" by Dean Gessie

Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Audiobooks

This audiobook features "Community Of Peers" by Dean Gessie. Published in the February 2021 issue of After Dinner Conversation: Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Magazine.

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STORY SUMMARY (Spoilers): To what detail do you need to know how the justice system works to support it? Would you be willing to take part in the punishment of a foreign justice system? What morality do we carry with us between cultures, and what morality are we willing to adopt from our host culture? In this work of philosophical short fiction, the narrator wanders into a remote, but seemingly civilized, village about to carry out their most severe punishment, the stoning to death of a convicted criminal. As part of their culture, if there is a stranger among them, they should be the one to cast the first stone. Our narrator only knows that the trial was fair under the laws of the culture, and the criminal was found guilty. However, he is not permitted to know what crime the criminal committed. Regardless of the narrator’s choice, the criminal will die today. The narrator decides to throw the first stone, hits the criminal squarely in the head, killing him instantly. The remaining community members drop their stones and head home, justice served. This story, like all After Dinner Conversation stories, has suggested discussion questions at the end.

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