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THE CADRE, was” JAN. 29. 1971* Page 2

ON PLAGIARISM'

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among the academics (sic) here at UPEI there is a common agreement that an act of plagiarism on the part of a student (or any- one) is in very bad taste, warranting a severe repri- mand (lecture on honesty) or dismissal from the in- stitution. It is thought to be wrong because it indicates that one is eit- her too lazy to do original (or honest) work, or that one is attempting to obtain some measure of praise or glory for "impressive" ideas not one's own. What gives rise to this situation?

We would have to begin

with the early Greek think-' ers; most notably, Plato &

Aristotle. Both thinkers gave rise to a mode of thought which has dominated Western civilization for 2500 years. St A stine

(neo - Platonist and, esp- ecially st. Thomas Aquinas, (neo - Aristotlian) among

a host of other, lesser, desciples, have cultivated and integrated Idealism (Plato) and Classical Real- ism (Aristotle) into man and his history. In the case of Aquinas and Aristotle, reason was thought to be the highest, most sublime phen-

omenon in the universe. Matter was thus subjected to mind -- the ideal phil- osopher was he who could denounce the heavy world of matter -- things, the desires, etc. (witness

the lone monk in his cell devoting his life to thou- ghtt). This duality between mind and matter is still prominent today! ' .

However, academic act1v1ty was, and still is, the most important function because it is (was) thought to be the sole guide for human progress; An error could be dangerous. .

It became (especially among academics) quite reSpectable to denote oneself the task of developing and refining ideas; and it did (does) not matter whether you are from a foreign culture and thus used to a different proxis; if you know the basic pri- nciples of this thought you can participate. Meanwhile, the realm of practical ac- tivity is either ignored or is expected to conform to metaphysical principles. When reason is dominant & not seen as integral to _ practice -- indeed, depen- dent upon practice -- it is then easy for 2,500 year old thought to still be

letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I would like to reSpond to your statements about Chri- stianity which appeared in

the Jan. 22 edition of the

Cadre.

Christianity does not tea- ch that all men are inher- ently evil and must not

‘engage in political or lib- erating activities. 0n the

contrary, Christianity teaches that man is the highest of all God's crea- tion. Man is the only cre— ated being that is destined to share in the life of God himself. "You have made.him a little less than.the ang-> 813." (P5.

The whole point of Christ's coming was to liberate man: to make him free. Every Ch— aristian is called to this freedom and to help free his brothers and sisters: Yes, men are sinners because we have not always responded to the high expectations Christ has for us. Never- theless, the basic message of Christianity is liber- ation; liberation-from our own sin and apathy and a call to get involved in liberating all peoples.

If we root out the doc- trines that Christianity has taught us, we will find that they are very human because they call us great heights of freedom and dig- nity. "...the world itself will be freed from its ' slavery to corruption and share in the glorious free- dom of the children of God.

(Rom. 8(21) . Maureen Larkin

dominant today::

In the case of a student whose thought is an att- empt to reflect the con-

,crete reality, there can be

no plagiarism, since it is truth (not a person) he~ emulates not some philoso— pher in an ivory tower. He' cannot be accused of-plagi- orism because there is no one to object to his thought

Being used\-— as if anyone

had a monopoly on a thought! He cannot cheat because th- ere is no one on whom he can cheat. Reality cannot be cheated successfully

because unless his thought is brought into conformity with reality, it will be 'exposed for what it is -— wrong!: So, no one else ne- ed worry whether or not he is cheating; if he is, he will be exposed indubitably! Furthermore, in this com— petitive society where tho- ughts can be bought and sold like any other commo— dity, the impetus to plag- iorize -- like the impetus to steal ~- is created by this very same society. Success is a highest goal, alongside money and status and, since someone must fail in order for another

‘ to succeed, plagiorism is

inevitable for he who has ‘not the natural ability

but has internalized the "need" to succeed --(an internalization created by this competitive, capital- ist society). Education on Prince Edward Island (like the rest of North America) creates the very problems it seeks to overcome -- intellectual dishonesty,’ bad citizenship, alcoholism, crime, general and definite unhappiness in all.

My fellow students: if so— meone else's thought is of purpose to you in yur gen- uine growth and development, then use it -- and forget the footnote! (Mind you, I do not mean to imply that a lazy student arbitrarily use quotations to get high- er marks or a degree -- it must be thoughts that are helpful to your ownmin your own develo ment and person- al destiny). \ g

If you're going to play the System's game, then use

,the System's rules. If,

”’however you come to see

that y ,must live in acc- ordanc o concrete reality, then »must use the rules~ of con ete reality.

All p, lems manifest today (e.g.,' he oil crisis) are

traced to man's refusal to

live in accordance with the

totality of concrete rea-

lity. We have not as yet

become sufficiently se-

cure to go beyond the Greeks! Stan Dalton