Moral Ethics And Plagiarism

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“The use of someone else’s words or ideas without adequate acknowledgement—that is, presenting such words or ideas as your own… Deliberate plagiarism is nothing less than cheating and theft…” (Rottenberg). This quote from Annette T. Rottenberg is placed under the title “Definition of Plagiarism” in the Point Park University Student Handbook. Plagiarism has always been viewed as a crime or a wrong doing that one should never do because it is unethical. Ethics and plagiarism are both important in understanding how and why plagiarism is wrong. In this essay, I will analyze how and why plagiarism is not ethical in any circumstance. Plagiarism has many different forms to it and there are many ways a person can plagiarize. According to Neil Kokemuller, …show more content…
He believed in two different states that each person has; the Good and the End (“Moral Philosophy”). When describing the Good, Socrates explains that people unconsciously do things that make them happy and that physical objects make one feel satisfied at the same time (“Moral Philosophy”). The whole idea of the Good is that humans act in a positive way and that they just want to live a happy and meaningful life (Moral Philosophy”). Happiness is the one thing all humans want to have in their lives and the Good is that explanation. The End is the other idea Socrates had and goes along with the Good. Socrates explains that the End is what we do and how we act in order to feel that happiness we so desire (“Moral Philosophy”). In the article, “Moral Philosophy”, the idea of the End is further explained stating, “The art of morality is not the art of living morally with a view to attaining happiness; it is the art of being happy because one lives morally” (“Moral Philosophy”). So Socrates brings these two ideas together to explain why humans act a certain way. He explains that happiness is unconscious and internal, but one must find out what makes them happy deep down (“Moral Philosophy”). Socrates later states that the longer one lives, the more one knows just what makes them happy and that their experiences in life build them into a more complete person (“Moral Philosophy”). “To be happy is not to possess riches or good health, it is to have a good soul. Happiness is identical with good conduct” (“Moral Philosophy”). Socrates felt happiness and the Good went together. He believed that physical objects did not make a person happy and that what each person’s soul wants is what will bring true happiness (“Moral Philosophy”). Later on in the article it develops this idea more by stating, “Happiness consists in the lasting goods which are within us, it consists in having a mind free of agitation, dedicated to lofty knowledge and

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