California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Latest update: January 27, 2000
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In what way can "cheating" be viewed as something other than a moral deficiency?

Cheating does not represent moral deficiency if you have a good moral reason for doing it.
Sorry! Try Again!

This answer evades the problem of morality. Honesty means doing the work for which you receive the reward. Even though we would prefer that you not work for the sake of reward alone, it is dishonest to take the reward for something you did not do.

If you thought this was the right answer, you might want to reconsider what we have discussed on structural violence. To evade the moral responsibility by pointing to the system's structural violence might make you feel better. But it will not resove the underlying structural conflict that, for some reason that cheating allowed you to evade, the structure is harming you. You need to address that harm up front and directly if it is to be resolved. Cheating may have worked this time, but the adversarial system will find ways to thwart that. Unless you resolve the structural harm, the problem will recur.

Back to Question 1 on Love, Learning, and Structural Violence

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