<p>alright. my morals are messed up apparently. im a horrible person indeed. </p>
<p>im waiting for the sadness to kick in...</p>
<p>waiting...</p>
<p>waiting...</p>
<p>Thank you for sharing, shore.</p>
<p>I still don't think it was impulsive, because it must have been drawn out over at the bare minimum a couple of days. That makes it not impulsive to me. And if he was stressed over acceptance, that's his problem. I run into kids all the time at my school who are trying to get into HYPS. We are particularly close with Princeton and Stanford, so the stress increases ("There's no reason I should get in as a top student, blahblahblah"). They don't resort to cheating or forgery. Why should I accept this kid's actions?</p>
<p>"alright. my morals are messed up apparently. im a horrible person indeed. "</p>
<p>Who called you that? Whoever did, was wrong. ;) I definitely didn't. I said your judgment was warped, just as Newjack claimed mine was.</p>
<p>Baelor:</p>
<p>This is why I don't read your posts:</p>
<p>
[quote]
You argue as if total relativity is proven, and it's not.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What exactly are you talking about? Are you trying to say that there are moral absolutes? I am pretty sure most educated/intelligent people would disagree with you on that one.</p>
<p>I understand Baelor and I'm likewise but seriously we can't judge this kid until we know him. After all did you not utilize that as an argument concerning his potential to harm the OP? </p>
<p>I mean, when we look at it with the facts presented it seems a clear cut case but we mustn't judge a student based on this. I know students with the most remarkably aweful circumstances. One of my roommates (we had a dorm each) was a Korean with the most demanding parents. They couldn't speak English but they DEMANDED he go to Harvard. Like they would constantly say how many hours etc the dad worked for money for education etc. </p>
<p>Must not judge in all circumstances.</p>
<p>Because I don't know how I would deal with such circumstances. Because the human mind is both irrational and perfectly logical simultaneously and who know's his reasons. Most students smart enough to get into Yale realize it's not worth cheating when they can get into most other four year universities</p>
<p>"What exactly are you talking about? Are you trying to say that there are moral absolutes? I am pretty sure most educated/intelligent people would disagree with you on that one."</p>
<p>In other words, I am wrong and undeserving of your attention because you disagree with me? That's issue number one.</p>
<p>Secondly, I never argued that absolutism is correct. On the other hand, there is not a shred of evidence that total relativism is advisable. I'm not talking about contextual relativism, that's way different.</p>
<p>Please understand that not everyone thinks the way you do. I understand this, even though I disagree with other people's opinions, in some cases vehemently. But you have no evidence at all that my sense of morality is wrong, and the argument that my life was somehow sheltered is not convincing.</p>
<p>Also, please stop being a hypocrite: You called out laxtaxi for the argument to numbers, I would suggest you stop doing the same. ;)</p>
<p>"I understand Baelor and I'm likewise but seriously we can't judge this kid until we know him. After all did you not utilize that as an argument concerning his potential to harm the OP?"</p>
<p>Uhm, you're right. We can't judge the kid. We can judge his actions. We can say they're right. Or wrong, for that matter. </p>
<p>"They couldn't speak English but they DEMANDED he go to Harvard. Like they would constantly say how many hours etc the dad worked for money for education etc."</p>
<p>Would cheating have been wrong for that kid? Yes.</p>
<p>"Because I don't know how I would deal with such circumstances. Because the human mind is both irrational and perfectly logical simultaneously and who know's his reasons."</p>
<p>Of course. But it wasn't a silly mistake that just happened. It was a process.</p>
<p>I did not read the whole thing because it is 17 freaking pages long, but my opinion is simple and I agree with some things that NewJack88 brought up as well.</p>
<p>The OP clearly makes it be known that there is some dislike to this individual to begin with, so my issue would be simply this, if it was the OPs best friend, or sister, or brother that got into Yale under such pretenses would they report that individual as well- if yes than the OP is just of high moral standards and more power to them... however , if instead the OP would keep his/her mouth shut because of their relationship with the individual than in reality this is clearly a situation of jelousy and of the OP being a lousy person to begin with regardless of what the other lousy person did.</p>
<p>^ I agree completely with the second paragraph.</p>
<p>Baelor:</p>
<p>I asked you if you think there are moral absolutes.</p>
<p>"I asked you if you think there are moral absolutes."</p>
<p>I'll need a clarification. I would also love to know why this matters. If you will discredit my opinion on this specific issue just because of my alleged views on morality as a whole, I question your own judgment and ability to reason.</p>
<p>Baelor:</p>
<p>If you don't think there are absolutes, then how can you argue that not everything is relative? The fact that you couldn't see where I was going says something about your reasoning skills.</p>
<p>I personally do not think that the OP's personal feelings toward the kid who falsified the letter play into whether or not the OP should report the kid, or whether or not said reporting is moral. It's all very well to say, "well would he do the same if it were someone else?" but we're never going to know the answer to that, because it's not someone else, it's this kid that the OP happens to dislike. </p>
<p>In the end, the evidence of the letters and the teacher's words are what will get the student rescinded from Yale, not the claims of the OP. Thus, the OP is really just initiating an investigation into this issue, as he should, and not making sure that this kid gets ejected from Yale for personal reasons. The OP just doesn't have as much power as some people are assigning to him.</p>
<p>I think it's fine to ask the counselors/teachers to look into this, and report it to Yale if need be. This students' fabrication affects other Yale applicants, the school itself, and possibly his teachers reputations and whatnot, not just the student. Why shouldn't he (and possibly others considering faking parts of their applications in the future) be made aware of the fact that this is not ok, even if the price of that is rescinded admission? I mean, if this behavior continued and he cheated while /at/ Yale, he'd get expelled and be down a few thousand bucks, so it could even be for the student's own good anyway.</p>
<p>"If you don't think there are absolutes, then how can you argue that not everything is relative? The fact that you couldn't see where I was going says something about your reasoning skills."</p>
<p>There are degrees and contexts of relativity. The fact that you didn't know this says something about your knowledge of epistemology and your knowledge of basic philosophical context. You might want to research a little about what I can only assume are your own views. ;) Please stop the condescension when all you are doing is speaking out of your own...anyway.</p>
<p>I will answer your question in a way that is relevant to this discussion: I view everything as actions, consequences, rights, and property. There are cases in which reporting cheating may not be the best option. If there is a legitimate and imminent danger that would arise, it may not be the best option. It is still wrong, but reporting it would be more wrong. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Also consider the rights involved. Does Yale have a right to know if the candidate lied or not? I believe yes, and I value that right over the right of the cheater to hold a fa</p>
<p>Baelor:</p>
<p>
[quote]
There are degrees and contexts of relativity.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Weak, so weak.</p>
<p>I'm done responding to you since you just want to bicker.</p>
<p>how bout we dgaf this thread</p>
<p>"Weak, so weak.</p>
<p>I'm done responding to you since you just want to bicker."</p>
<p>Man, you just cannot win, can you? I'm sorry that I dismantled your completely false dichotomy that only revealed that you have no idea what relativity actually is. To say that either one is an absolutist or one believes that "everything is relative" is a laughable concept.</p>
<p>You were done responding way before this. So, be done. You have contributed, and so have I. If you want to leave, then please do so.</p>
<p>Baelor:</p>
<p>HAHAHA!</p>
<p>I can't pass this one up...</p>
<p>
[quote]
To say that either one is an absolutist or one believes that "everything is relative" is a laughable concept.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You don't think that relativism and absolutism are complete opposites!?</p>
<p>"You don't think that relativism and absolutism are complete opposites!?"</p>
<p>They are complete opposites. Black and white are complete opposites? Are there not shades of gray? As a relativist, I would think that you would know this...</p>
<p>
[quote]
They are complete opposites. Black and white are complete opposites? Are there not shades of gray? As a relativist, I would think that you would know this...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Bicker, bicker, bicker...</p>
<p>You're not even trying to make sense.</p>
<p>My post got messed up, here it is:</p>
<p>"You don't think that relativism and absolutism are complete opposites!?"</p>
<p>They are complete opposites. Black and white are complete opposites. Are there not shades of gray? As a relativist, I would think that you would know this...</p>