The Ethics Of Cheating Analysis

In this summary, the first part is about cheating. Cheating is an act in which one person deceives another. To deceive is to mislead or lie, to manipulate another's expectations falsely to gain unearned benefits for oneself. Not all acts of deception are objectionable. Some acts of deception we not only enjoy, but we also praise. In basketball, Comstock states, some players will try to dribble with both hands on the ball when a referee is not looking. If this event will give favor to the team a viewer is in support of, he or she will praise the player for getting the advantage. Despite the gained advantage, the ball player has gained this advantage that has harmed the other team. In doing this, he has cheated. So, deception is only objectionable

If one who is an egoist is to be successful in a society that values honesty and looks down on dishonesty, one would have to internalize a moral compass that that matches the said society that he or she lives in. In so doing, one would have to minimize their acts of dishonesty and only allow such deeds when society allows for such conduct. Two important risks runs with this idea. The first is that people in this society will be able to point the said person out very quickly. The next is that person who is trying to assimilate in this society will have an extremely difficult time referring to themselves as an honest person. Although we say that lying is wrong for the egoist in circumstances in which the lie is likely to lead to more harm than good for the egoist, we must be careful to distinguish when lying is also acceptable.

The prevalence of whistle blowers on cheaters is not enough to deter them. For those who are caught cheating in research, their offenses are discussed in newspapers and posted on public websites. However, for those who become aware of this misconduct, it is in their best interest to report such unethical practices. Viewing it that all individuals are egoists, he or she should protect themselves and their own personal work by pointing out those whose practice of cheating slanders the name of science and or shows lack of

Faculty can provide advocates for students when they are thinking of telling on student who are cheating. This would help in preparing them for what to expect from telling on their peers. Another point is that faculty can also make it more difficult to cheat than for students to just do their own work.

The last point Comstock made was that students have a role as well in stopping cheating. Since cheating has such bad consequences for them, poisoning the laboratory atmosphere and causing people to mistrust other's work, students have a steak in establishing a zero-tolerance attitude toward it. In the next chapter, Comstock addresses plagiarism. The definition of plagiarism that was given was the deliberate or reckless representation of another's words, thoughts, or ideas as one's own without attribution about submission of academic work, whether graded or not. To avoid plagiarism, one must find his or her own voice in their writing, acknowledge the contributions of others and add one's own to