The Case of Melinda

Case of Melinda

Divine Law

If the Divine Law is universal and absolute, and if it were against software piracy, then Melinda would be violating Divine Law. If Melinda has her own religious faith and if her faith is against software piracy then she violated her own faith’s Divine Law. There could be various faiths claiming that they are the correct faith. If it so happens that some faiths are correct and others are wrong then the Divine Laws of the correct faith must be consulted regarding the case of Melinda.


Natural Law

Natural Law governs nature as a rational harmony and orderly pattern of things without which everything would be reduced to chaos and disarray. Software piracy may or may not be in accord with this natural law because of the problematic character of Natural Law. It is not that established whether software piracy could lead to chaos or order.

If Natural Law is a discipline that everyone must adhere to, and if software piracy does not lead to the common good, Melinda did not adhere to Natural Law because of software piracy. But it is not that established what common good is. The theorists’ suggestions of precepts of natural law are questionable. Equity is the simplest of the precepts to apply to Melinda’s case but it still does not state whether software piracy is wrong. We could argue that if other people have software can’t others have too. Or if others bought software for a huge price others should get the software for a huge price also. Righteousness, justice, and fairness are precepts that are not too firm and do not classify actions accurately as acceptable or not unless specified in detail.

Natural Law also refers to the inherent nature of men and this brings conflicts because there are various opinions on the nature of man. The notion depicted in the module is that by Epictetus, in which man by nature is good. Again, the nature of “good” is not firmly established. Man has the capacity for goodness and such, but could we deny that man has the capacity for the opposite of these precepts? Others also state that man by nature is bad, etc. Whatever the nature of man is, we could state that man’s action is in accord with Natural Law if his actions are in accord with his nature. If software piracy is not in accord with man’s nature then it violates Natural Law.


Moral Law

Since the problem states that Melinda bought from Cyberzone (which is presumed to be a Cyberzone in the Philippines) the moral laws of the Philippine community should apply which has high tolerance for software piracy. Most people are aware that software piracy is illegal but still tolerate it, thus the case of Melinda is faced with different judgments instead of just one: whether it is accepted or not.


Physical Law

If there is a law of nature about software piracy then it is inevitable that software will be pirated. Melinda did just the inevitable. But physical laws still does not give meaning to software piracy as wrong or right.