I, as a philosopher really disagree with you!

Imagine you were the editor of some fashion magazine, or maybe you just worked in the fashon industry. At any rate imagine you spend a lot of your life studying and thinking about fashion, and were considered somewhat of an expert on it. Perhaps you teach classes in modeling school, perhaps you do consulting work for large chain stores who buy lots of clothing, or maybe you are the editor of the fashion segment of the local news.

Now what if someone came over to you and said "certainly one should to wear stripes with plaids". That would sound rather odd. And you would of course respond in your capacity as fashion maven, that one must not if they want to look normal.

Let us then say that the individula persists and says the following to you: "How could you, as a fashion expert who has spent time thinking about this, think that you should not wear stripes with plaid." What do you respond to this person?

Naturally you reply that "after countless hours of thought, and lessons, and reading about what others think about fashion, I have come to the realization stripes and plaids do not go together.

Now I have had that experience not less then three times in the past 2 weeks. I have having a conversation with a relative stranger and they say somehting about ethics. (I am a philosopher and teach ethics) Then I disagree. Then they look at me in wonder as I, as a teacher of ethics in a university disagree with them. They then say "How can you as a philosopher believe that?" I usually reply that "I as a philosopher have thought about it and read a lot about it and still, in my capacity as philosopher, disagree".

I am assuming that they are amazed that someone who has given this any thought at all can disagree with them. Now, that is not to say I am always right, or even that on this particular issue (yes, it was the same issue all three times) I am right. I might be wrong, or more likely it is a matter of opinion, but I wonder what the deal with people is.

Naturally after they realize that there are clear counterexamples to what they say they still go on believing that they are right. I guess that they assume that the guy who did the MTV skit from which they got this juicy piece of ethics from has a good quality answer. But it annoys me to no end that people think that experts are generally there to confirm what they believe. (Certainly as an astronomer you understand how a Capricorn should not travel on airplanes when the sun is crossing Jupiter.) Is that what education is? It annoys me greatly when experts do this, and "rearrange" research. But that is clear dishonesty. Shouldn't it be the same when regular people do it?