Throughout my life, I have observed some of the normative theories that were covered in our chapter 2 readings. However, the theory illustrated in chapter 2 that I resonate with the most would be Kant’s theory.
According to the text, the principles of Kant’s theory are reliant n good will and categorical imperative. Kant’s theory originated from a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant who believed the experiences a person goes through in their lifetime is influential on the ethical position a person develops.
In my sophomore year of high school, a classmate of mine got the answers to an upcoming exam and was willing to share the answers with many people in the class, including myself. However, my life experiences and lessons up to that point in my life had taught me that cheating is morally wrong. Although many of my classmates used the answers and didn’t get caught, I elected not to use the answers. Instead, I decided to study hard for the exam because I knew that was the right/moral/ethical thing to do. As a result, the exam score I got back was much more fulfilling and satisfying because I knew I had earned my score with honor and hard work.
2 Comments for “M2 – Easaw”
wfraser3
says:This is an excellent story with an ethical situation that I believe many people face in their school career at least once or twice. In middle school, I used to get frustrated when students who cheated would get better scores than me. By high school, I realized that it was not worth my time and focused on my own studies. And like you said, It was much more satisfying to earn a good grade on my own merits.
The site I cited below, talks about how small forms of cheating is everywhere and in everything we do. It talks about ordinary people who give into the temptation. People justify cheating as long as they don’t get caught. They believe they are still good people with good morals inside and out. The site also suggests a way of solving this problem, and that is to change the circumstances. If the person isn’t tempted to cheat, an example being given the answers to an exam, they are less likely to cheat. Most importantly, if tests and grades weren’t such a high importance, students would spend more time focused on the subject rather than scouring the internet for the solution manual. As for an immediate solution, the site says monitoring and creating am environment with academic integrity can reduce cheating among students.
Citation: https://www.ethicalsystems.org/content/cheating-honesty
ngsanches
says:This story is a fantastic example of Kant’s Ethics. Had you accepted the answers, you would’ve been following a more egoistic style of beliefs. However, your choice to refuse the answers and instead work harder to earn the grade yourself, despite not knowing whether you would do better or worse in this way, fully supports Kant’s nonconsequentialist theory of ethics. You didn’t know the consequences of your decision, but felt that if you accepted the answers it would be immoral, which is exactly what Kant’s theory says.
I feel like this is a situation that almost everyone ends up in at some point in their lives. I’ve certainly been in this type of a situation before, and I’m proud to say that I made the same decision as you and chose to study myself rather than get the answers from another.