Introduction
Mary Campbell, a Kenyan student, is a fan of Alvin Slaughter’s gospel music and thus she is doing all she can to acquire the musician’s songs. Unfortunately, she realizes that to purchase the original CD from a music store, it would cost her about 500 shillings (equivalent to about seven US dollars) which she cannot raise as she is jobless. Her best friend Joyce hails from a well to do family and has all the singer’s latest music albums. Suddenly an idea pops into Mary’s mind like an eagle catching its prey. She can borrow Mary’s CDs and burn them from an underground dealer and that would only cost her about a dollar. She however still wonders whether it is morally right to do so. Mary is not alone as there are other people who engage in this activity for various reasons. This research paper shows that it is morally wrong to burn copies of CD’s downloaded from the web or borrowed from a friend.
Ethics and morality
The word moral can be described as that code of conduct which is created by the society, religious groups or that is accepted by a person for his or her own behavior. So generally, morality can be defined as the code of conduct which when given particular conditions, would be acceptable by majority of rational persons (Gert, 2008). Gert however states that by defining morality as such would be limiting its full meaning; since by stating that it is only a code of conduct created by a society denies the fact that there exists universal morality applicable to every human being. The normative description of morality places a person in a situation where “any adult who is normal” will be in a position to realize the general actions that are required, prohibited, encouraged, discouraged and allowed by morality (Gert, 2008).
Utilitarian explanation
On the issue of burning of CDs, one needs to differentiate between utilitarianism from deontological ethics. Utilitarianism can be described as that ethical system that believes that maximizing the joy and happiness of the entire society is the most important ethical thing to do (Physics Forums, 2008). In this, it means that all the actions that would bring outcomes that make the majority in the society to be happy should be highly encouraged. What is important is not how the actions will be done but whether their consequences would be acceptable to the members of the larger society. ‘The ends justify the means” would be the best phrase to use in utilitarianism (Physics Forums, 2008). The utilitarianism has the claim that no universal moral truth exists; for the truths can not be ascertained. Moreover, the disadvantages and the advantages of the actions can be easily calculated. This means that instead of relying on the moral truths that are ambiguous, people should deal with ways that are concrete and that can be used to determine whether a certain act is moral or not (Physics Forums, 2008). In this case, utilitarianism would argue that burning CDs from the internet and from a friend depends on whether the outcome would bring happiness to the larger part of the population. One would argue that he desires to have the CDs and listen to music but does not have the necessary funds to do so. This is very common in the Third World countries where many people live below the poverty line. Since they are not able to purchase the original Compact Disks as they are usually very expensive, they would prefer to buy pirated compact disks though they may be of low quality as long as the price is (sometimes ten times) lower. If one comes across a computer with internet connection, he or she can easily burn CDs from a site without caring of the economic, moral or the legal factors that are attached to such an action.
Deontological explanation
On the other hand, deontology demands that whether the outcomes are acceptable or not the means or the actions that are used to arrive at those outcomes should be ethical (Physics Forums, 2008). This system claims that there are universal truths and norms that are applicable to all individuals in all societies. There is a belief that people conclude whether an action is right or wrong depending on the rational thought. Therefore the maxim that may best suit the deontology is ‘the means must justify the end” (Physics Forums, 2008). Deontologists would argue that an individual is responsible for his or her own actions and not those of the other person. In addition, it argues against utilitarianism in that it is not possible for one to predict with certainty the outcomes of one’s actions (Physics Forums, 2008). Therefore in the case of burning CDs from the internet or a friend, the action would be termed as morally wrong and even though it may bring joy to the society, it deprives the producer of his rightful share of money gotten from the sale of the CDs. Though the outcome may bring joy to the larger part of society, the action still will be termed as unethical.
Conclusion
Burning of CDs from a friend whether for your own use would be illegal in many nations of the world (China is an exception) as this would mean selling and/or distributing material that is copyrighted (Shepard, 2004). Burning of the CDs may be acceptable if maybe one does it to have a backup copy for himself in case the other gets scratched. Otherwise if it means getting a copy for oneself from a friend it would mean that one is stealing from the owner or the producer of the CD who is supposed to reap maximum profits for his or her production. Therefore, when one borrows a CD from a friend and burns a CD he or she is retaining the money which he or she could have used to purchase his or her own copy. Technology has in fact increased this morally wrong act as people who are financially capable, download music from the internet and then burn it in CDs. Sometimes they may not be lacking money to purchase them, but only that they want to acquire what is not for theirs by force without paying for it. This act is unacceptable! There are those who do not only burn CDs for their own use but even go ahead to sell to others at a cheaper price. The governments should do all they can to stop such kinds of businesses as they are illegal. Even if the one concerned does it in private, he or she should still know that it is still morally wrong and is no different with a thief.
References
Gert, B. (2008). The definition of morality. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web.
Physics Forums. (2008). Utilitarianism vs. deontology. Web.
Shepard, D. (2004). Legality of burning cds. Web.