Scenario:
It is Week 7 of the early 8-week fall term. You are taking 3 courses so that you can get back on track after a rough spring term. It’s 10PM and you stayed up all night yesterday studying for your chemistry ex am, but you realize you misread the calendar: the final deadline for Es say 3 in your English Composition 1 course is in 2 hours. You know that Es say 3 is worth almost 30% of your final grade, and getting a 0 means you are no longer passing the course. You have worked hard all term, and you cannot afford to fail the course because this is your third attempt, and you are already on academic probation. Your instructor’s syllabus that they do not accept late work for Es say 3 because of the time limits of the end of the term. You know that your instructor won’t see their email for at least another 12 hours.
Your classmate told you about a website where you can download an es say from another student who has taken the same class at the same college; all you have to do to gain access to the materials is create an account and upload 5 different course materials to your own account. Time is running out, and you have to decide what to do.
Questions:
- What is the moral issue at stake here?
- Explain how you would handle the situation if you subscribed to ethical subjectivism and why you reached that decision
- Explain how you would handle the situation if you subscribed to cultural relativism and why you reached that decision
- Explain how you would handle the situation if you subscribed to utilitarianism and why you reached that decision
- Explain how you would handle the situation if you subscribed to deontological ethics and why you reached that decision
- Explain how you would handle the situation if you subscribed to rights-based ethics and why you reached that decision
- Finally, after running the situation through the various moral theories, explain how you would personally handle the situation. To which moral theory does your decision most adhere?
Sample Solution
