Reference no: EM133448132

1. What is the significance of the Silk Road as a conduit of trade, culture and war?

2. In approximately one paragraph, explain how natural law theory could be applied in the following scenario.

A scientist is conducting an experiment using one hundred adult subjects, hoping to finally discover a cure for liver cancer. Conducting this one last study is the only way to identify the substance that can cure the disease and save the lives of countless people. But the experiment causes long-lasting, horrible pain in the subjects, and they will not be able to benefit in any way from the study's success. The researcher would ordinarily never be able to enlist any subjects for the study because of these two facts, so to ensure the cooperation of the subjects, he lies to them: he says that being a part of the study will be painless and that it will increase their life span. The study is completed, the cure is found, and the subjects spend the next year in agony. What would natural law theory say about the scientist's actions?

3. In approximately one paragraph, explain how natural law theory could be applied in the following scenario.

A pregnant woman has undergone prenatal testing and now knows that the fetus she is carrying has Down syndrome, a congenital disease characterized by moderate to severe mental retardation and facial disfigurement. The woman has been given a choice: abort the fetus and avoid having a Down syndrome baby, or carry the baby to term and hope that the effects of the disease are not too severe. What would natural law theory have her do?