Ethics and plagiarism go hand in hand. In a world where cheaters thrive, it's no wonder that plagiarism is rampant in our society. Once considered a country founded on integrity, honesty and moral uprightness; we find ourselves in a society that rewards those who pass off other people's work as their own, making it difficult for individuals who truly deserve recognition and work hard to think about their ethics. It is important to understand what plagiarism is and what the consequences of intentional plagiarism are. In my opinion, passing off someone else's work is completely inappropriate, unacceptable, or for lack of better words, just plain wrong. According to Griffin (2006), new ideas are rare. Furthermore, he asserts that even the most ingenious minds, like Ralph Waldo Emerson, did not truly articulate their own ideas in a way that would require one hundred percent originality. Emerson's documented observations closely resemble the works of German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Additionally, Griffin (2006) suggests that if Emerson were a university student in today's society, his work might be guilty of plagiarism since their works so closely resemble each other. Griffin (2006) goes on to argue that each case must be treated individually to be fair, because to be fair is to meet the needs of the individual. Next, he argues that a person's academic background should be taken into consideration. Furthermore, what were the intentions of the person who allegedly plagiarized and how deep is their understanding of the discipline that they emphasize in their work? Griffin (2006) mentions that unintentional plagiarism happens and when it happens, should it be treated like all other plagiarism actions?...... middle of paper ...... conduct, Fear and inconsistent rules make it very easy for individuals to want to continue to intentionally plagiarize. Society as a whole needs to look for different ways to thwart instances of cheating, without instilling fear in current or potential students. Works Cited Callahan, D. (2006). On Campus: Author discusses “cheating culture” with students. Perspectives, 1(4), 1-8. Griffin, N. (2006). Writing badly: thoughts on plagiarism. Retrieved from http://www.helium.com/items/1531069-appropriate-criteria-for-plagiarism Martin, B. (1994). Plagiarism: a misplaced insistence. Journal of Information Ethics, 3(2), 36-47. Park, C. (2004). Rebels without clause: towards an institutional framework to fight against student plagiarism. Journal of Higher and Higher Education, 28(3), 291-305. do I:10.1080/0309877042000241760