Since cheating is obviously wrong, arguments against it (it provides an
unfair advantage, it hinders learning) need only be mentioned in passing. But
the argument of unfair advantage absurdly takes education to be essentially a
race of all against all; moreover, it ignores that many cases of unfair
(dis)advantages are widely accepted. That cheating can hamper learning does not
mean that punishing cheating will necessarily favor learning, so that this
argument does not obviously justify sanctioning cheaters.
-- Keywords: academic dishonesty, academic integrity, academic misconduct,
education, ethics, homework, plagiarismComment: 8 pages; new (completely rewritten) version; in Studies in Philosophy
and Education (2009