Cheating

The concept of cheating has been almost completely neglected by philosophers. Cheating, in the paradigm case, involves the violation of the rules of a voluntary activity in order to gain its built-in goal. Golf is a model for academic cheating even though the primary goal of academic activity is to learn new information, or improve one's skills, not to compete. But being in a college or university adds the element of competition. Faculty and administration should function as referees or umpires, or tournament officials, allowing each student to have a fair chance to compete with others.