Ethical Question of Plagiarism - Essay Example

I would definitely report Fred Football to the dean. The dean could ten decide what to do. Personal circumstances should not play a role in this kind of ethical situation. Deontological ethics, developed in large part by the Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant, is often considered to be non-consequential ethics. That means that people make value judgments based not on what they can get from the pursuit of that value or the benefit of it to themselves or others, but because it is simply inherently the right thing to do.

I believe in this. The truth is that to end plagiarism students should have an incentive to put references in their work. A practice-based approach is often most effective in getting students to understand why they should cite their references and avoid co-opting other material as their own. Leading the students through step by step why plagiarism is wrong and not in their best interests and how it distorts the work of the academy is the best way to prevent it from happening in the first place.