Philosophy
Karma is supposedly a cosmic sense of justice, of just desserts, of reaping what one sows, of getting what one deserves. But the concept has the curious property of enlarging the scope of justice beyond the act to include other non-related acts -- that is, because of good or bad things you did before, you will gain more benefit or greater harm from some other, independent action in the future. Yet, when we think of justice, we think that gain or penalty ought to be tied to the act itself, regardless of who it is that commits it. It is the act and not the person that is being judged...or is it?
I taught for a while at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. The students there, of course, have enlisted in the Navy or Marines in order to attend. As such, they are not just college students, but also employees of the federal government. They get a paycheck for going to college as well as having their room, food, clothing, and instruction paid for by the tax payers. They also have to live under a stricter code of behavior with stricter punishments. If they are found guilty of an academic misdeed, they are not only are expelled from the academy, but under the contract they sign to be admitted, must repay the government for all costs incurred in educating them up to that point. To teach there, I had to sign a contract pledging to report any knowledge of such infractions.
Then, it happened. I got a paper where portions were clearly plagiarized. It was written by a good kid who did a dumb thing. This was not one of the sleazy kind of students who are always trying to get away with something; he was a hard-working, respectful, good-hearted young man who no doubt had one of those weeks where he was overwhelmed and in a moment of weakness did what he knew he shouldn't do.
I knew all this and knew that he didn't have the $100,000 it would cost him, a punishment that in no way fit the crime here. So when I called him to my office I decided that I would give him enough rope to hang himself. If he copped to it and expressed authentic remorse, I'd give him a second chance; if he tried to play me, I'd take the case to the authorities. Without a single word from me, he immediately broke down, admitted it, and apologized. I told him I'd give him a zero for the assignment, that he needed to write me a passing paper for next week, and never, never, NEVER do this kind of thing again.
He got off easy because of karma. If he had been a sleazy gamer, I'd have simply done what I was supposed to do under the contract. He got a second chance because he was a nice guy. Was that fair? Should we treat people differently for doing the same thing? He knew the penalty, he signed the contract and willingly agreed to be part of the system, and then committed the act anyway. Shouldn't he have suffered the consequences he agreed to, even if they were out of line with the lack of severity of the crime? I signed a contract that I violated. Did I do something wrong in showing care and compassion? Is karma doing justice in a larger context or is it unjust because it imports morally irrelevant facts into the discussion of a different action?
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Scott Aiken, over at The NonSequitor, has an interesting discussion of the appeal to students not to plagiarize. It has led me to think about how odd the student/teacher relationship is. Carol Gilligan distinguishes between those relationships that are...
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Philosophy
Karma and Justice
Karma is supposedly a cosmic sense of justice, of just desserts, of reaping what one sows, of getting what one deserves. But the concept has the curious property of enlarging the scope of justice beyond the act to include other non-related acts -- that is, because of good or bad things you did before, you will gain more benefit or greater harm from some other, independent action in the future. Yet, when we think of justice, we think that gain or penalty ought to be tied to the act itself, regardless of who it is that commits it. It is the act and not the person that is being judged...or is it?
I taught for a while at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. The students there, of course, have enlisted in the Navy or Marines in order to attend. As such, they are not just college students, but also employees of the federal government. They get a paycheck for going to college as well as having their room, food, clothing, and instruction paid for by the tax payers. They also have to live under a stricter code of behavior with stricter punishments. If they are found guilty of an academic misdeed, they are not only are expelled from the academy, but under the contract they sign to be admitted, must repay the government for all costs incurred in educating them up to that point. To teach there, I had to sign a contract pledging to report any knowledge of such infractions.
Then, it happened. I got a paper where portions were clearly plagiarized. It was written by a good kid who did a dumb thing. This was not one of the sleazy kind of students who are always trying to get away with something; he was a hard-working, respectful, good-hearted young man who no doubt had one of those weeks where he was overwhelmed and in a moment of weakness did what he knew he shouldn't do.
I knew all this and knew that he didn't have the $100,000 it would cost him, a punishment that in no way fit the crime here. So when I called him to my office I decided that I would give him enough rope to hang himself. If he copped to it and expressed authentic remorse, I'd give him a second chance; if he tried to play me, I'd take the case to the authorities. Without a single word from me, he immediately broke down, admitted it, and apologized. I told him I'd give him a zero for the assignment, that he needed to write me a passing paper for next week, and never, never, NEVER do this kind of thing again.
He got off easy because of karma. If he had been a sleazy gamer, I'd have simply done what I was supposed to do under the contract. He got a second chance because he was a nice guy. Was that fair? Should we treat people differently for doing the same thing? He knew the penalty, he signed the contract and willingly agreed to be part of the system, and then committed the act anyway. Shouldn't he have suffered the consequences he agreed to, even if they were out of line with the lack of severity of the crime? I signed a contract that I violated. Did I do something wrong in showing care and compassion? Is karma doing justice in a larger context or is it unjust because it imports morally irrelevant facts into the discussion of a different action?
- Did Newt Gingrich's Wife Commit Adultery Too?
I was listening to a discussion about Newt Gingrich's conversion to Catholicism this morning and it glossed over the fact that he was with his current wife before he was no longer with his previous wife. It is clear that he committed adultery, but...
- Does The Social Contract Have A Dotted Line?
Today is the 706th anniversary of the death of William Wallace, a Scottish knight who led the revolt against Edward I who claimed rule over Scotland. When tried for treason, his defense was that he could not be guilty of treason against a government to...
- Weed Out Classes And The Nature Of The Student/teacher Relationship
Scott Aiken, over at The NonSequitor, has an interesting discussion of the appeal to students not to plagiarize. It has led me to think about how odd the student/teacher relationship is. Carol Gilligan distinguishes between those relationships that are...
- It's Not A Little Voice In The Back Of Our Heads...
In Book II, as Socrates continues his discussion of the concept of justice with another young man named Glaucon, an anecdote of absolute power is told. The story of the Ring of Gyges follows a young shepherd who finds a ring that gives him powers making...
- Kyler Robinson: Justice
Kyler M. Robinson Comparison Philosophies Rob A Skiff September 6, 2005 When posed with the question ?what is justice?? Socrates instead pushed the question back onto the gathering of young men. Of these young men, the most clear and, in my...