Is it morally objectionable to answer a question even if you really don't know the best answer? (yes or no, a. b. c. d. e., T or F are okay answers, matching is fine too, but I like essays the best)
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Parsec13
ANSWERS: 3
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Life requires us to make decisions with incomplete information every day. How we choose our answers from the available possibilities is often as important as the choice itself, and is also where the moral consequence lies.
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On AB it does irk me to see people throw answers out there with no personal experience or a cited article from a reliable source. These cases are rare and do not apply to a lot of the questions on AB, but. . . I mean if you have never had a/an (insert procedure here). . .and you are not a Dr. . . and you can't be bothered to look something up then it isn't morally objectionable, but it is obnoxious. For those of us that share very personal experiences, it is insulting when somebody wanders by and with an "oh I hear that's painful". How is that helpful? Sorry for the rant, but this is as close to morally objectionable I can relate to in terms of AB.
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I think: no, because there is never a "best" answer. The only thing you can do is try your best to answer in your own opinion, admit to how much you do know, what experience and biases you might have, and be as honest as possible. Even if you are considered an expert on the subject you may still get it wrong, or have a different opinion to someone else. I have a PhD but I think it highly elitist that we only take cited sources seriously. Everyone can have a new insight drawing from their own personal experiences and just because it has not been published, it does not mean it is wrong. Take the old-wives tale of taking ginger to cure nausea. It works better than any artificial indigestion remedy but has only been taken seriously recently. Well, I'm sure we've all talked to people who pretend they know everything - it's just very annoying and in the end no-one will trust them.
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