The Plagiarism Ethics Scandal Nobody Is Talking About
Jan 15, 2024
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The podcast discusses the problem of plagiarism in our culture, touching on topics such as the sacrifice of academic integrity for DEI, the widespread nature of plagiarism, the failure to explain its moral wrongness, and Ayn Rand's perspective on honesty. They explore the neglect of plagiarism in ethics, the importance of honesty from an Objectivist viewpoint, and the consequences of plagiarism in academia.
Plagiarism in academic institutions is not effectively condemned or explained in terms of moral wrongness or the necessity of upholding honesty standards.
The significance of Claudine Gay's extensive plagiarism raises questions about Harvard's hiring process and the impact on a student if they engaged in similar acts.
Cheating and plagiarism are widespread issues in higher education that are not adequately addressed, with academic institutions failing to support professors and students lacking a prioritization of academic integrity.
Deep dives
The Debate over Plagiarism
The podcast episode discusses the controversy surrounding the plagiarism scandal involving Claudine Gay, a former Harvard president. The episode explores why so many people are quick to excuse Gay's plagiarism and why it was overlooked in the first place. It also raises the broader issue of why plagiarism is tolerated and not condemned in the intellectual world, questioning the lack of a convincing explanation for the wrongness of plagiarism.
The Significance of Gay's Plagiarism
The podcast delves into the significance of Claudine Gay's plagiarism. It reveals that about half of her published works were found to contain significant instances of plagiarism, including copying verbatim from original sources without proper citation. The episode questions how Harvard, as a prestigious institution, could have hired someone like Gay and allowed her to rise to the rank of president despite her plagiarism. It highlights the seriousness of her plagiarism and the impact it would have on a student if they committed similar acts.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
The podcast explores the broader problem of cheating and plagiarism in higher education. It discusses surveys that indicate a significant number of professors admit to ignoring plagiarism cases, and a substantial percentage of students confess to engaging in various forms of cheating, including plagiarism. The episode raises questions about why academic institutions fail to support professors in addressing plagiarism and why students and faculty members do not prioritize academic integrity.
The Ethical Perspective on Plagiarism
The podcast examines how the ethics of plagiarism are viewed by academic ethicists. It reveals a lack of focus on the subject of plagiarism in academic writings and ethics classes, suggesting a neglect of its moral significance. The episode suggests that academic ethicists tend to prioritize conflicts and sacrifice among individuals rather than focusing on the moral implications of integrity and self-development. It argues that plagiarism is not only ethically wrong but also harmful to one's own character and education.
The Value of Honesty
The podcast explores the value of honesty and its relevance to plagiarism. It emphasizes the Objectivist perspective that honesty is a virtue based on facing reality and refusing to fake it. The episode highlights how dishonesty, such as plagiarism, undermines self-esteem, confidence, and personal growth. It argues that embracing honesty is crucial for individual development, education, and future success, while also questioning why academic ethicists fail to emphasize the importance of honesty.
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Daniel Schwartz discuss the problem of plagiarism in our culture. They argue that although academic institutions assume that cheating is wrong, many academics have no intellectual argument as to why plagiarism is morally wrong or why it is necessary to uphold standards of honesty.
Among the topics covered:
Background on the universities’ sacrifice of academic integrity to DEI;
How plagiarism is a widespread problem in the culture;
How some academics view plagiarism as neither significant nor necessarily wrong;
The intellectuals’ failure to explain why plagiarism is morally wrong;
The fact that today's ethics offers no guidance for questions about the self;
Why the value of one's own education is compromised by cheating;
How Ayn Rand’s view of honesty can illuminate what’s wrong with plagiarism.
Recommended in this podcast are the Ayn Rand Lexicon entry on honesty, Tara Smith’s Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist, Bayer’s “Why Today’s Ethics Offers No Real Guidance,” and the previous New Ideal episode “The Real Scandal Underlying Campus Antisemitism.”
The podcast was recorded on January 10, 2024. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.
https://youtu.be/lLOXyQpebRM
Image credit: TSViPhoto/Shutterstock.com.
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