It’s Unethical To Be Uneducated

It’s unethical to be uneducated. By that, I don’t mean everyone should have a degree or work in academia to be a good person; I mean that people shouldn’t speak before knowing the facts. To offer an opinion about something you don’t understand could lead to harm.

Here are a few topics that may cause you to speak emotionally before thinking:

• The actions of a political leader like Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin
• Abortion, gun control, or immigration
• The Israeli/Palestinian war
• The HOA rules in your neighborhood
• An unplanned culture, religion, gender, or political party dating your child

You likely have opinions on all of these. I have no issue with opinions. What I take issue with is sharing that opinion before you’re fully educated on the topic.

If you want to comment on a “hot topic,” you’ve got some work ahead of you, assuming you care about responding ethically.

As far as I can tell, here are the seven stages we need to experience before opening our mouths:

1. The knee-jerk reaction: This is the first thing that happens when you’re presented with something begging your opinion. You feel a strong push or pull based on how you were raised, what your political and religious affiliations are, and what you ate for lunch. If you’re hangry, your knee-jerk reactions might be a little spicier than usual. Keep the knee-jerk response to yourself. It’s not adding to the conversation, and it’s definitely not improving anything. In fact, if you share it, someone listening who respects you might take it for gospel and act on that opinion, which could lead to real harm.
2. The cursory Google search: This is where you realize you don’t fully know what you’re talking about, so you do a quick search on Google or AI. Why do you do this? To avoid sounding foolish, of course. Regardless of what you find, you should still not share your opinion. The etymology of the word “cursory” is “to run” or “to be hasty.” You should never share something you found from a hasty Google search. Move on to level three. 
3. The decision to dive deep: Once you realize your quick search wasn’t enough, you have to choose whether to dig deeper, or quit. This is a real decision, by the way. Doing a deep dive will take time and effort on your part, and you should consider how important it is that you’re able to offer an intelligent response to the “hot topic” in question. If you don’t care enough to do the work, tell your interlocutor that it’s not your field of expertise and move on. It’s okay to not have all the answers to life’s burning questions. If you do decide to deep dive, move on to level four.
4. Don’t Be Lazy: Invest your own time and energy. This is called “Getting educated.” I use the word “Invest” on purpose because the work you do, if done well, will provide a knowledgeable return. And do us all a favor by gathering good source materials, backed by reputable institutions, please. Don’t get your “facts” from Reddit or TikTok. And keep an open mind during your research. This is harder than it sounds, because you’ll want to find facts that support your theory, and you’ll want to ignore the facts that subvert you. This is called “Confirmation Bias,” and it’s a killer. Once you’ve done the work, you’re closer to sharing your opinion, but it’s still unethical to speak. Move on to level five.
5. Define your claim on paper: Get your claim out of your head and onto paper. You don’t need to write an essay about it, although that wouldn’t hurt, but you do need to verify your position on paper. Can you define your claim in a single sentence? For example, this essay is titled, “It’s Unethical to be Uneducated.” That’s my claim. Once I can clearly define the claim, I’m almost ready to share. But not yet.
6. Support the opposite claim: We’re almost there. Once you can support your claim, find evidence that supports the opposite view of your claim. I get that you’re “Pro-Choice” or that you’re “Anti-whatever,” but what are the merits of the opposition? There’s always two sides to a story, and if you don’t acknowledge that, you’re not only being unethical again–you’re also acting childish. Your opinion doesn’t matter until you’ve thoughtfully and unbiasedly considered the other side. Congratulations, it’s now ethical for you to open your mouth.
7. Present your argument: Now that you’ve taken all the necessary steps, you’re finally educated and can ethically share your claim. Notice that we’ve traveled the long journey from unfounded and emotional opinion to grounded claims. While the First Amendment and Free Speech are divine ideas, you should always earn the right to speak. 

Rebuttal 1 – There’s no time to get educated

This is a real problem. Who has the time to thoroughly research both sides of the gun control argument or the immigration positions? Especially if you have kids, a job, and your aging parents to support?

It’s a fair point, but it’s no excuse for sharing unfounded and emotional opinions. If you don’t have the time to thoroughly research something before speaking, that’s fine. Hold your tongue and listen to what’s being said. If someone asks your opinion, tell them the truth. “I’d love to comment, but I haven’t had the time to research the topic.” Then decide if you’re willing to travel the seven steps outlined above.

Rebuttal 2 – I can’t be expected to know everything

No, you can’t be expected to know everything. That’s true. But if you’re going to weigh in on something, you should know what you’re talking about. No exceptions. You have no business talking about the evils of the Republican or Democratic Party if you haven’t done the work and are only speaking from a sense of loyalty. Just because Grandpa was a Republican, that doesn’t mean every liberal action is morally or ethically wrong. Do your homework.

Rebuttal 3 – At some point, I have to make a decision, and I still won’t know all the facts

While it’s true that you could research a topic endlessly–and that could become an excuse for never sharing your claim–there has to be a point where you draw a line and take a stance.

That’s to be expected. Every topic, especially one with an ethical concern at its core, has ambiguities on both sides. There will also be research supporting both sides of a balanced argument.

The goal isn’t to create an impenetrable claim; it’s to understand your position, support it with quality research, and honestly consider the opposition. The goal is to avoid unethical opinions.

Conclusion

Before you go to bed tonight, I’m willing to bet that you’ll hear someone share their opinion on a hot topic. It may be on social media, at the family dinner table, or at work. If that person has not traveled the seven steps outlined previously, they’re acting unethically. Their unfounded and emotional opinions could lead others to act without thinking, and even cause harm.

How do tragedies like The Nazi Party, honor killings, or people throwing soup cans at the Mona Lisa get started? They happen because someone shared an uneducated opinion, and the others nodded along in agreement.

Eddy Hood

I’m Eddy Hood, host of The Read Well Podcast. I love getting lost in big ideas and great stories, and I started the podcast to help fellow readers tackle challenging books with confidence. I’m studying philosophy, running Edgewater Bookstore, and slowly chipping away at writing a novel.

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