theconsequentialist | Answers for 01/27/23 Lecture Assignment

Q1. What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is copying somebody else’s intellectual or creative work and claiming it as your own.

Q2. Is plagiarism illegal?

If the work is copyrighted, then yes it can be a crime. Otherwise, it is not.

Q3. How might plagiarism affect a typical professor?

Plagiarism can ruin a professor’s career since their work is what their position and reputation is based on. It also demonstrates that they can't be trusted.

Q4. How might plagiarism affect a typical student?

Plagiarism can result in a student failing classes or even being kicked out of their university.

Q5. What is AFL anyway?

It is the body that regulates Australian football.

Q6. How might you encourage IP creation?

I would encourage IP creation by using copyright law and imposing penalties on people who break it.

Q7. A creative solution is proposed. Is that ethical?

It’s an interesting case and I hadn’t considered this solution before. I think an argument could be made for it. This seems like a more efficient way to accomplish something that a lawsuit does for plagiarism cases, namely make people whole. It might not be a good idea in all cases, such as those involving scientists plagiarizing the work of other scholars, but I imagine it might be good for cases involving artists or writers. It seems to me like their main complaint would be that they aren’t getting paid when someone copies their work without attribution.

Q8. Which of these cases is most interesting to you? Why?

I think the case involving Paul McRory is the most interesting. I can’t understand why he would try to pass off other people’s work as his own or even totally fabricate it. It seems fairly obvious that the original scholars would notice or that other people would look into it considering he’s so famous. I also think it's interesting because it shows that there are groups within the scientific community looking out for cases like this.