Learning Objectives

• Students will critically think about lying, cheating, breaking promises and stealing
• Students will be able to define   
  • lying
  • white lie
  • lies of commission
  • lies of omission
  • cheating
  • promise
  • stealing
• Students will understand differing ethical perspectives on lying
• Students will be familiar with arguments for and against lying, cheating, breaking promises & stealing
• Students will have the ability to apply theoretical and philosophical statements on lying to real life case studies situations
• Students will be provided with ethical instruction, case studies, knowledge, discussion and wisdom which will help them avoid ethical lapses.

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To Lie or not to lie, that is the question. Would the following lie?
Divine Command	"Thou shalt not lie" - The 10 commandments say don't lie.
Kant	You can't lie with Kant.
Utilitarians	Lie when it would lead to a greater good for a greater amount of people
Egoist	Lie if it is in your own best interest
Virtue Ethics	Lie only if it contributes to making you into the type of person you want to be. Many virtue ethicists consider "honesty" to be an important value and would rather be known as honest than deceitful.
Feminist Ethics	One should do whatever preserves and nurtures the relationship. Black and what rules written by men do not apply here.

 Defining Terms Per  MW Online Dictionary

• A Lie:something that misleads or deceives
• To cheat:  to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud
• A Promise:a legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act
• To Steal: to take the property of another wrongfully and especially as an habitual or regular practice

Further Terms

White Lie: Thiroux quotes Bok when defining white lie: “A falsehood not meant to injure anyone, and of little moral impact.”   Thiroux suggests white lies have little moral impact.   They are ways of functioning in a day-to-day world.

Other ethicists would disagree and discourage  lying. They  say  you are known for your words and actions. If one continually engages himself in a web of white lies, eventually you lose people's trust and respect.  People will not believe you. Your self-respect and self-integrity, and self-dignity will gradually be eroded.

Thomas Sowell comments in his March 30, 2005 editorial, "This must be the golden age of euphemisms. When people deliberately violate our laws by crossing our borders illegally, they are called 'undocumented workers.'  When people steal copyrighted material and exchange it among themselves. that is 'file swapping' instead of fencing stolen goods" ("Why are pedophiles ever freed from jail? Norwich Bulletin, page A5).

Lies of Commission & Omission

Thiroux distinguishes between lies of commission & lies of omission.
A lie of commission is actually telling someone a lie.

A lie of omission is refraining from giving information to give someone the wrong impression.  For example, you may not volunteer the information  that you take drugs or have committed a serious crime, and give people the opposite impression

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Ethical Theories & their views on lying, cheating, breaking promises: & cheating:

Lying,  Cheating,  Breaking Promises, Stealing
Reasons against doing these acts	Reasons supporting these acts
It diminishes the one committing the act Loss of personal integrity & self-respect It is bad for one’s reputation  It is dishonest It's not kind It is unfair to others  It shows a lack of respect for the other It dehumanizes the other by using him  Diminishes  personal relationships  It diminishes the trust people have in you It does not promote good human(family friend, community ) relationships   It’s hard to run a society with these injustices May lead you in prison The domino effect  - one thing leads to another It violates the Divine Command and golden rule  It makes life harder for you in the long run Being mislead eventually angers others It is a violation of others' rights Negative overall effect on society	Self-defense Defense of others Defense of our country Exceptional circumstances  Everybody does this It evens out the scores It makes up for past wrongs The game is winning It's the result that counts It’s the way of the world. Be realistic  It may not be a big deal It’s expedient To yield a greater good or pleasure Promotes a fair, chaos-free society Better solution for some  moral conflicts It may seem to be the "kinder" act which preserves and nurtures relationships Duress, pain,torture It's the way the world functions

 

Case Study - Journalists lie under duress to secure their release:

The Associated Press reported on August 28,2006  that just prior to the release of two Fox News journalist captives (Olaf Wlig, 36, from New Zealand; and Steve Centanni, 60, from America) they "appeared in a video dressed in traditional Arab robes, ranting against the West and saying they had converted to Islam." (Article Title "Captured journalists freed, Page A3, Norwich Bulletin, August 28, 2006) 

Needless to say, the journalists who were freed on 8/17/06 said these statement under duress after having been in captivity for two week.  Their possessions had been taken away and they were abused.  .

Why did they lie? Steve Centanni told Fox, "It was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns, and we didn't know what the hell was going on." 

As true journalists, their fear is that reporters may be frightened by the prospect of reporting in Gaza.

Question for discussion:

• Is telling the truth an absolute value that one should never deviate from?
• When is it OK to lie? What justifies a lie?
• When is it not OK to lie?
• Were the two journalists, Wlig and Centanni justified in lying?
• On the hierarchy of values, where does lying fit in compared to other values?

Case Study # 2

Fifteen sailors were seized by Iran in the Gulf on March 23,2007. They were in disputed waters of the Persian Gulf . They said they had crossed the line.

Video Case Studies we've seen in class

There are classic examples of individuals who say they would never lie or offer a false confession (confess to committing a crime they did not do).

23% of individuals freed from jail because of DNA evidence had confessed to committing a crime. (20/20 video)

 7 out of 8 students confessed to touching a key which broke a computer system in experiments.

The Milgram experiment showed how individuals were willing to relinquish their common sense because an authority figure took responsibility for their actions

I hope video case studies we have discussed in class prevent you from offering a false confession & make you more aware of our susceptibility  when  confronted with an authority figure and a corroborating witness in a hot stuffy room.  I also hope viewing the relinquishing of responsibility to another has provided you with ethical insights and knowledge to avoid such actions.

For centuries people have been saying, "I'll never do that, say that, or deny you."  The classic example is Peter in the Bible who tells Christ , "I will never deny You."  But the does before the cock crows three times. Knowledge garnered from case studies, and ethical instruction provides us with wisdom to avoid ethical lapses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former hyperlinked learning objectives

• Students will critically think about lying, cheating, breaking promises and stealing
• Students will take an ethical inventory to realize how ethical they are
  Student volunteers will take a voluntary,  anonymous general survey  which I will tabulate to see the class opinion vs. personal opinion.
• Students will be able to define   
  • lying
  • white lie
  • lies of commission
  • lies of omission
  • cheating
  • promise
  • stealing
• Students will understand differing ethical perspectives on lying
• Students will be familiar with arguments for and against lying, cheating, breaking promises & stealing
• Students will have the ability to apply theoretical and philosophical statements on lying to real life case studies situations

 

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 Hayes  reports the following : (January 2005)

• A Chicago newspaper survey showed 7/10 employees steal at least some small item from their employers, “Fringe Benefit.”
• People today no longer lie, they merely “juggle the facts” or “stretch the truth”.
• People no longer steal; they “Rip off”, “Lift”, or “Borrow”.
• People no longer cheat; they “Pad expenses”, or “Fudge the figures.”
• Another university study revealed by age 10 the average child develops “A non-condemning attitude toward cheating.”

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STATISTICS

A 20/20 Article that is no longer on the web (20/20 article below http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/Primetime/US/cheating_040429-2.html)
states the following:

1. CHEATING

In decade from 1992 to 2002 the number of high school students who admit that they cheated on an exam in the past year increased significantly from 61% to 74%. In 2000, 71% admitted to cheating.

• Students participating in varsity sports were more likely to cheat than non-participants (78% vs. 73%).
• Students attending religious schools were more likely to cheat than students at other schools (78% vs. 72%).
• Gender, student leadership, and personal religious convictions had no material impact.
• The number of students who admit they cheated two or more times in the past year has increased only slightly from 1992 to 2002 (1992 – 46%; 2000 – 44%; 2002 – 48%).

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Figures

Authoritative numbers are hard to come by, but according to a 2002 confidential survey of 12,000 high school students, 74 percent admitted cheating on an examination at least once in the past year.    From  http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=1  Retrieved 3/15/05

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Article Title: A Cheating Crisis in America's Schools from  http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=2   retrieved March 15, 2005

 Reasons for cheating:  Grading Curve

"Even if the world were more ethical, students still have reasons for cheating. Some said they cheat because they're graded on a curve — so that their score is directly affected by how other students do.

"There's other people getting better grades than me and they're cheating. Why am I not going to cheat? It's kind of almost stupid if you don't," said Joe.  " http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=2

"McCabe says, a survey of more than 4,000 U.S. and Canadian schools revealed half of all faculty members admitted ignoring cheating at least once.  http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=3

 Article Title: Big Cheats on Campus:  Cheating Has Never Been Easier -- Especially for the Wealthiest Students from   http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=264646&page=1 retrieveed 3/15/05

Martinez needed money, so she wrote papers for her  wealthy roommate:
"Elena Martinez says she was paid about $20,000 to do another student's schoolwork".  (ABCNEWS.com)   http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=264646&page=1

"Martinez says that over three-and-a half-years she earned about $20,000 doing Laurie's assignments. At least one of her teachers appeared to notice that Laurie's homework was better than her in-class work.http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=264646&page=2

Students not only use technology to cheat, but traditional devices too:
"Some write on a rubber band, which become legible when they stretch it. Others put test answers on water bottle labels. (The water magnifies the tiny print.)  http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=264646&page=1

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Custom Paper - is this cheating? Is it different from going to a tutoring center or asking peers for review?

"Buying a "custom" paper is a way students get around programs like Turnitin. On the Internet there are hundreds of places, like SchoolSucks.com, that offer term papers written by others, for a price — maybe $15 per page — written just for you. "

"Anna Popielarz owns a paper mill Web site called CustomPapers.com. She says the papers she sells will not be caught by plagiarism software. Like the students who cheat, Popielarz doesn't show any shame. "

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=264646&page=2

Is taking medication cheating?

Title of Article:  Students Take ADHD Drug to Boost Scores:  Doctors Say Adderall Abuse Gives Unfair Advantage and May Endanger Health from http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/News/story?id=254123&page=1 , retrieved 3/15/05 - published 11/15/04

 "Kevin Ngo, a Baylor University graduate now studying for the law school entrance exam, isn't leaving anything to chance. He is seeking help from a pill that's meant to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

"There is something about Adderall that makes you concentrate, focus and makes whatever you're studying more interesting," he said.

More than 6.4 million prescriptions for Adderall were filled last year. Some of these prescriptions are being used by students seeking a quick fix for studying. "

"A Yale University junior said Adderall helped him read the 576-page novel "Crime and Punishment" and write a 15-page paper — all in 30 hours. "

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/News/story?id=254123&page=1

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Hacking

Harvard reported in March 2005 that some individuals had hacked into their filed and peeked at who was accept  to their university.   Is there something wrong with this? No rules were posted against hacking.  Should these students be dismissed?

 "Harvard Business School will reject 119 applicants who followed a hacker's instructions and peeked into the school's admission site to see if they had been accepted, the school's dean said."
Associated press march 2005, page C6 Norwich Bulletin)

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Former hostage, journalist Jill Carroll lied when she was in captivity for three months. She said what needed to be said to be set free.

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False confessions

20/20 reports that there are many false confessions (Inside the Box)
Of prisoners released  because of DNA proof of innocence, 23% had signed guilty confessions.