It's a good question. How can I feel this way? I think there are a couple of layers to that answer. The first is obvious and oblivious and it doesn't really clear the air as much as it shrugs it's shoulders and says, "Who, me?": It's going on. And it will go on without me. But so long as it goes on, I could make some scratch. That's a simple equation and unlike some other posters, I don't think America WILL BLOW UP! because I wrote a few papers. In my mind this is certainly more ethical than a desk job at a PMC.
Moving on, the second answer is because I'm comfortable with the dissonance here. I abhor plagiarists. I abhor the people who buy papers. But I'd be comfortable writing them.
When I look at the question I have to respect the moral autonomy of people who decide, "I need to buy a paper". I provide the service. Now, the magic of analogy will let someone else come along and say, "Well, then why don't you build bombs to kill civilians because someone will pay you to do so?". And the answer is that building BOMBS is about four-hundred-million degrees of severity away from writing term papers.
There's a constant thread here that somehow allowing morally bankrupt students to cheat their way to a degree will rot the foundations of this country, nay, world. I have to refute that. Smart people do smart things, dumb people do dumb things, sometimes the order gets jumbled, but by and large you succeed by your own wits. A degree is just the cost of admission nowadays. I think if you still admire a college degree as some incredibly shining achievement, you're not paying attention. It's just the cost of getting into the mix.
I created a firestorm of hate at MetaFilter by inquiring about this. My thinking is that I have a service I can provide. Is it morally dubious? Yes. But I'm not making the decision. I'm providing a service. I realize that's sort of a convenient distinction to make, but I fundamentally believe in the moral autonomy of persons. I realize I'm inviting a cognitive dissonance into my life- I abhor plagiarism and I abhor paper buyers. But excusing myself from the ring on those grounds is hardly the "right thing".
I created a firestorm of hate at MetaFilter by inquiring about this. My thinking is that I have a service I can provide. Is it morally dubious? Yes. But I'm not making the decision. I'm providing a service. I realize that's sort of a convenient distinction to make, but I fundamentally believe in the moral autonomy of persons. I realize I'm inviting a cognitive dissonance into my life- I abhor plagiarism and I abhor paper buyers. But excusing myself from the ring on those grounds is hardly the "right thing".
Keep typing like that and maybe you'll eventually justify it. :lol
It's not morally dubious--it's plain wrong for you and the person. They entered into a contract with their school to not cheat and you're aiding them in that. The fact that money is changing hands makes no difference. Whether it's a service or a favor, you're not in the right. You're hurting the person by allowing them to slide by and not work honestly, allowing them to slip morally. If they're competing with the class, then its even worse (depending on how well you write, I guess.) You and the buyer are both in the pits here.
I'm not saying I care and I'm not trying to reprimand you, but I just want it to be clear that this isn't a gray area. in my opinion, it feels better just to say "yeah, that was definitely wrong, wow." If you are fully aware, then you've both preserved your moral line and received what you wanted out of the situation :lol
I'm not suggesting that writing papers means you're responsible for bombing Afghanistan...
I'd rather get achievements for people for money - much easier and less time involved
Here's the straight talk: I want the money. I have the skill. There is the market.