Seminar in Academic Integrity Syllabus

Dr. Nancy Stanlick, Department of Philosophy

Submit all assignments by e-mail no later than 4:00 p.m. 7 days from the meeting of the seminar. Send to stanlick@mail.ucf.edu . Make sure that your name and “Ethics Seminar” appear in the subject line of the e-mail. The full text of the assignments document for this seminar appears at http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~stanlick/Fall07EthicsAssignments.htm . Download the file, fill out the document, and save it like this: YourLastNameEthicsSeminar in .doc format or in .html format. Then, send it to me at the e-mail address listed above.

Section I. Attendance

Section II. Overview

1. Diagram on Academic Integrity
2. Ethical Theories, Moral Responsibility and Applications

Section III. UCF’s Policies on Academic Ethics

• The UCF Creed
• The UCF Golden Rule
• Creed = values; Golden Rule = Principles

Section IV. Cheating & Plagiarism; other instances of questionable ethics

Section V. How to use and cite academic resources properly and how to identify and avoid plagiarism (in assignments)

Section II: Overview: Introduction to Ethical Theories

An essential element of understanding the processes involved in making ethical decisions is to understand some of the major ethical theories that inform the principles and practices of most people (even if they are unaware that this is the case). There are three influential ethical theories and one ethical stance that will be helpful to you in being able to create arguments and understand your own position with respect to moral problems. The theories are:

• Virtue theory , also called virtue ethics. This is an ethical theory constructed around three elemental notions. The first is that there is no person who is not part of a community of others – i.e., we are primarily social beings and find fulfillment and meaning in the communities in which we live. Second, the primary feature of ethical evaluation of oneself and others resides in the character of a person. Third, the consequences of one’s actions are a determining factor in deciding the question whether the action is right or wrong, good or bad. Virtue theory is not a rule-based ethical theory, and thus you will not find some particular rule that all must follow. It is a character-based theory, not a principle or rule-based theory of ethics. For additional information on this theory, go to http://ethics.sandiego.edu/presentations/Theory/virtue/virtue.ppt .
• Utilitarianism, also known as the moral theory focusing on “the greatest happiness.” Very succinctly put, Utilitarians hold the position that pleasure is good and pain is bad. They therefore found their moral reasoning on the notion that increasing pleasure (or minimizing or avoiding pain) is good and decreasing pleasure (or augmenting or causing pain) is bad. Further, if pleasure is good for one person, then it is even better for more than one person. Generally on this basis, the Utilitarian contends that our moral obligation is to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number (of sentient beings). This, in fact, is the requirement of the ultimate rule of utilitarian ethics: the principle of utility. For additional information on this theory, go to http://ethics.sandiego.du/video/hinman/theory/Utilitarianism/utilitarianism_pp.ram
• Deontology , a duty based-ethical theory, centers on the rational calculation of the universalizability of the maxim (or rule) of an action to determine its rightness. A deontologist does not believe that the consequences of an action determine its rightness. It is, instead, that the principle of the action, and the reason that the moral agent performed it, are what determines an action’s moral worth. But do not be misled by this notion. It does not mean that simply intending to produce good results is what matters. An intent to do that matters not at all. For the deontologist, it is not enough simply that an action be done. It must be done for the right reason. But not just any reason will do. The action must be performed on the basis of an ultimate rule of morality. But simply performing an action because it is a rule to do so is not enough. What is also required is that the rule of one’s action be derived from the only rule of morality: the categorical imperative. For additional information on this theory, go to http://ethics.sandiego.edu/presentations/Theory/Kant/Duty/Kant_Duty_and_Universality.ppt
• Psychological Egoism , or an ethical orientation in which its followers hold the position that self-interested behavior is what characterizes human action, is not really a theory of ethics. It is, instead, a descriptive or anthropological account of human behavior that has no moral import. That is, the psychological egoist does not say that people ought to be self-interested. The psychological egoist says that people are self-interested. Another version of egoism, however, does at least deserve to be described as a theory. This is ethical egoism, the position that every person ought to be self-interested and ought to act consistently with that prescription for behavior. For additional information on egoism, go to http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/egoism.html .

Section III. UCF Documents on Academic Integrity

• The UCF Creed, from http://www.admissions.sdes.ucf.edu/about.asp?FirstSub=creed
• The UCF Golden Rule, from http://www.goldenrule.sdes.ucf.edu/2e_Rules.html
• New UCF Academic Integrity Site: http://www.integrity.ucf.edu

 Section IV. Cheating and Plagiarism

In-Class Assignments:

Assignment 1 : Discussion of the Failure of the “10 Cs”

Assignment 2 : Discussion of: A Case of Moral Responsibility

At about 7:15 p.m., Joe and Jane are walking through the mall on their way to the theatre, which is situated near the food court in the middle of the mall. They are running late and know that the line to get tickets is always long. This is the last night that Joe and Jane will be able to go out together for quite some time. She is being deployed to Iraq with her unit of the National Guard tomorrow and will not be back for at least a year.

As they pass the coffee shop at the corner of the food court, they hear and see a child of about 3 years old crying uncontrollably, yelling for his mother. He is obviously lost. People pass by the little boy, paying very little attention to him. Joe and Jane look at him, then look around to see whether his mother is nearby. No one is standing near him. Yes, he is definitely lost.

Outside in the parking lot, the little boy's mother is waving frantically to a mall security guard. She explains to him that her son wandered away while she was putting a younger child, a little girl, in the car seat. She turned her back only for a minute to secure the seat belts on the car seat. The security guard and the child's mother proceed to look through the parking lot for him while waiting for the local police to arrive.

Joe and Jane continue walking to the theatre and forget about the crying child. They watch the movie and leave the theatre later that evening. At home, they turn on the news and hear that a 3-year old boy was kidnapped from the mall earlier that evening. He had wandered away from his mother while she was putting his younger sister in the car seat in the parking lot as they were preparing to leave the mall. The boy's mother explained that he wanted ice cream and must have gone back into the mall while she was tending to the other child.

The mall security camera shows an image of an unidentified woman taking the little boy by the hand and leading him out the opposite entrance to the food court of the mall. The time on the tape shows 7:17 p.m.

According to the news story, a search is underway for the child.

Joe and Jane recognize the boy in the security video as the same one they passed by while on their way to the theatre.

Assignment 3 : Discussion of Cases of Academic Integrity Violations

Assignment 4 : Video on Academic Dishonesty. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irBj1-dulcU for a short segment of an episode of the soap opera, All My Children (on academic cheating).

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS: Go to http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~stanlick/Fall07EthicsAssignments.htm and follow the instructions in that document. There are 4 homework assignments.