Cheating is defined as “receiving a reward for ability to be dishonest or by means in
finding an easy way out of an unpleasant situation. It is generally used for the breaking of rules
to gain unfair advantage in a competitive situation. This broad definition will necessarily include
acts of bribery, cronyism, sleaze, nepotism and any situation where individuals are given
preference using inappropriate criteria,” (Wikipedia, 2014). Cheating has been something people
generally think little about, but we often cheat on a daily basis. Of course cheating is morally
wrong and often against the law.
Many people would consider themselves someone who would follow a moral high road
that would prevent them from doing anything that would …show more content…
What about cheating on a spouse? If you could get away with cheating, would you
cheat?
Most people would consider themselves as moral beings, and come to believe that we
would never partake in an activity such as cheating, but what if we all really do cheat? To further
assist with the analysis of these questions I am choosing the following perspective that a person
could embrace when considering this topic: Cheating should not be considered as a means to
get ahead in our daily lives, even if we wouldn’t get caught. I will examine this perspective
through the Virtue-Ethics Theory, demonstrating how this theory can be both supported and
challenged.
Virtue-Ethics Theory Virtue-Ethics “is a theory of morality that makes virtue the central concern. A
virtue ethicist asks, in effect, “What should I be?” For the former, moral conduct is primarily a
matter of following or applying a moral principle or rule to a particular situation, and morality is
mainly duty-based. For the latter, moral conduct is something that emanates from a person’s
moral virtues, from his or her moral character not from obedience to moral laws,” (Vaughn,
2013, p. 136). Persons who believe in the Virtue-Ethics Theory, live by their own set of rules …show more content…
One can say however, that the standard is
most likely higher than many other theories may be.
Let’s consider a student who decides to plagiarize an essay paper to get an A. Obviously
this does not go along with being a virtuous person. It is not a right action that one of a virtuous
character would engage in. One with a virtuous ethics would consider “motives, feelings,
intentions and moral wisdom- factors that they think duty-based morality neglects,”(Vaughn,
2013, p. 137). This would support that cheating is in fact wrong and immoral, or does it?
According to Vaughn (2013), “eudemonia, which means happiness or flourishing and refers to
the full realization of the good life. Happiness is an activity of the should in accordance with
complete or perfect virtue,” (Vaughn, 2013, p. 136). So, could this mean that happiness and
flourishing is also important in this theory? It then would support cheating to make one happy
and to flourish in the class by getting an A.
Now let us consider the use of drugs or medication in sports. Using a drug to enhance
performance to perform better in a sport is not necessarily
Summary
Personal
finding an easy way out of an unpleasant situation. It is generally used for the breaking of rules
to gain unfair advantage in a competitive situation. This broad definition will necessarily include
acts of bribery, cronyism, sleaze, nepotism and any situation where individuals are given
preference using inappropriate criteria,” (Wikipedia, 2014). Cheating has been something people
generally think little about, but we often cheat on a daily basis. Of course cheating is morally
wrong and often against the law.
Many people would consider themselves someone who would follow a moral high road
that would prevent them from doing anything that would …show more content…
What about cheating on a spouse? If you could get away with cheating, would you
cheat?
Most people would consider themselves as moral beings, and come to believe that we
would never partake in an activity such as cheating, but what if we all really do cheat? To further
assist with the analysis of these questions I am choosing the following perspective that a person
could embrace when considering this topic: Cheating should not be considered as a means to
get ahead in our daily lives, even if we wouldn’t get caught. I will examine this perspective
through the Virtue-Ethics Theory, demonstrating how this theory can be both supported and
challenged.
Virtue-Ethics Theory Virtue-Ethics “is a theory of morality that makes virtue the central concern. A
virtue ethicist asks, in effect, “What should I be?” For the former, moral conduct is primarily a
matter of following or applying a moral principle or rule to a particular situation, and morality is
mainly duty-based. For the latter, moral conduct is something that emanates from a person’s
moral virtues, from his or her moral character not from obedience to moral laws,” (Vaughn,
2013, p. 136). Persons who believe in the Virtue-Ethics Theory, live by their own set of rules …show more content…
One can say however, that the standard is
most likely higher than many other theories may be.
Let’s consider a student who decides to plagiarize an essay paper to get an A. Obviously
this does not go along with being a virtuous person. It is not a right action that one of a virtuous
character would engage in. One with a virtuous ethics would consider “motives, feelings,
intentions and moral wisdom- factors that they think duty-based morality neglects,”(Vaughn,
2013, p. 137). This would support that cheating is in fact wrong and immoral, or does it?
According to Vaughn (2013), “eudemonia, which means happiness or flourishing and refers to
the full realization of the good life. Happiness is an activity of the should in accordance with
complete or perfect virtue,” (Vaughn, 2013, p. 136). So, could this mean that happiness and
flourishing is also important in this theory? It then would support cheating to make one happy
and to flourish in the class by getting an A.
Now let us consider the use of drugs or medication in sports. Using a drug to enhance
performance to perform better in a sport is not necessarily
Summary
Personal