Introduction to Ethics - Ethics for the Information Age - page 102

c. Since I wouldn't have bought it anyway, the company didn't lose a sale.
d. I'm giving my friend the opportunity to do a good deed.
e. Everyone else is doing it. Why should I be the only person to buy it when everyone
else is getting it for free?
f. This is a drop in the bucket compared to Chinese pirates who sell billions of dollars
worth of copied music.
g. This is insignificant compared to the billions of dollars worth of music being ex-
changed over the Internet.
45. Students in a history class are asked to take a quiz posted on the course Web site. The
instructor has explained the following rules to the students: First, they are supposed to
do their own work. Second, they are free to consult their lecture notes and the textbook
while taking the quiz. Third, in order to get credit for the quiz, they must correctly
answer at least 80 percent of the questions. If they do not get a score of 80 percent, they
may retake the quiz as many times as they wish.
Mary and John are both taking the quiz. They are sitting next to each other in the
computer room. John asks Mary for help in answering one of the questions. He says,
“What's the difference if you tell me the answer, I look it up in the topic, or I find out
from the computer that my answer is wrong and retake the quiz? In any case, I'll end up
getting credit for the right answer.” Mary tells John the correct answer to the question.
Discuss the morality of Mary's decision.
46. Suppose a society holds that it is wrong for one individual to eavesdrop on the telephone
conversations of another citizen. Should that society also prohibit the government from
listening in on its citizens' telephone conversations?
In-Class Exercises
47. In Plato's dialogue The Republic , Glaucon argues that people do not voluntarily do what
is right [31]. According to Glaucon, anyone who has the means to do something unjust
and get away with it will do so. Glaucon illustrates his point by telling the story of Gyges.
Gyges, a shepherd, finds a magic ring. He accidentally discovers that wearing this
ring renders him invisible. He uses the power of the ring to seduce the queen, kill the
king, and take over the kingdom.
Divide the class into two groups (pro and con) to debate the following proposition:
Whenever people have the opportunity to act unjustly without any fear of getting caught
or anyone thinking the worse of them, they do so.
48. For one of the following issues divide the class into two groups (pro and con) to argue
whether the right should be considered a legitimate positive right by our society:
a. The right to a higher education
b. The right to housing
c. The right to health care
d. The right of a presidential candidate to receive time on television
49. Is the right to life a negative right or a positive right? In other words, when we say
someone has the right to life, are we simply saying we have an obligation not to harm