In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a grad student writes:
What are the ethics of publishing a paper/idea that originated from someone else, given that they consent?
Suppose I came up with a paper for class X. The paper would contribute positively to the debate, and so there are good reasons (independent of the benefits to whoever is the author) for the paper to be out there. However, I don't want to publish the paper because I'm worried it might affect my career (e.g. it defends a political issue like abortion, or it's on a religious topic, or it takes a controversial stance on gender which could result in backlash, etc.). Suppose my friend/classmate/spouse, however, thinks the idea is great and would benefit from publishing it (e.g. they are applying to religious schools who appreciate a conservative stance on political issues).
In short, we think it is good for the community if the paper is published. It dis-benefits me to publish it, but benefits my friend. Given this, is it permissible to give the paper to my friend and for my friend to publish it?
We have two main ethical worries. One worry is that it is objectionable because it is originally my work and my idea. Contra this worry, however, it seems permissible to give my property to others. So, if I consent to giving the idea/paper, then the idea/paper should belong to my friend, who can then use it as his/her own property.
Another worry is that since the main bulk of the work is done by me, it is unfair that my friend benefits. Contra this worry, however, it is not unfair to me since I consent and perhaps I also benefit in other ways (e.g. I get to see the idea out there). In addition, the friend would also have to revise it (especially if major revisions are required after comments from reviewers), and so the friend still contributes.
What are people's thoughts on this?
I have to confess to being very puzzled by this query. The OP seems to be presupposing that the only morally relevant features of the case concern abstract questions of individual property rights and potential unfairness toward their friend. But surely these aren't the only morally relevant things: when one enters a profession (such as academia), one is bound by settled norms of conduct which are grounded in considerations of fairness and rights of others. For example, when one sells a product, one has an obligation not to engage in false advertising, as false advertising takes advantage of third-parties. By a similar token, when you enter into a university, you're bound by a code of student conduct to do your own work and not pass off others' work as your own--even if they give it to you. The same is true in academia more generally: if you enter into the profession, you are expected to publish your own work, not the work of others.
Another reader submitted the following reply:
Everything hangs on the details of the case. If your friend is taken a draft paper you wrote and then submitting it (even revised) as their own, then you have crossed a line. You should read about publishing ethics and scandals in science - in some countries scientists buy papers. This looks a bit like that. If on the other hand, you have drawn attention to a topic and your friend is now going to write something on it, that seems fine. Perhaps ask yourself: would you want this to be made public - including your involvement? If not, then do not do it.
Indeed, this seems exactly right. Perhaps the OP has a libertarian conception of individual liberty and property rights--I'm not sure. But even a libertarian thinks one is morally bound to keep one's contracts, and a decision to enter into a profession surely carries all kinds of explicit and implicit contractual requirements to obey professional norms, such as that people publish their own work. Finally, if the author doesn't want to publish controversial work under their own name out of concern for their career, there's surely a better option--one that many scholars have done over the course of history: publishing under a pseudonym (although it's a bit controversial, there's even a place for this in philosophy). But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?
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