hashkafah philosophy - Moral principles of a non-talmid chochom

Despite my widespread renown on Mi Yodeya, I am actually not a talmid chochom: I can only read Gemara in English.

Sometimes a yeshiva person or even rabbi will hold a philosophy or action to be righteous when I hold it to be wicked.

Naturally, I am tainted by participation in secular society so I may blinded from what is right but

Is there a mechanism In Judaism for an ignoramus to have a moral opinion that is not dismissed when it differs from that of a learned person.

Answer

Rav Kook z"l offers a fascinating perspective. In his view, one has a natural moral compass which can be corrupted even by the excessive legalism common among talmidei hakhamim (and no doubt can be corrupted by external influences as well).

Far from the normal disregard on the part of the scholars, for the sentiments of the laymen,

R. Kook saw matters differently, and recognized that there was an element of natural Jewish morality in the masses that was no longer to be found among the scholars, and the scholars ignored this to their own detriment. And let us not forget that the masses that R. Kook was referring to were not like many of our masses who go to day school, yeshiva in Israel, and attend daf yomi before going to work. The East European Jewish masses never opened a Talmud after leaving heder. They were pious and recited Psalms and came to a shiur in Ein Yaakov or Mishnayot, but without having studied in yeshiva, and lacking an Artscroll, the Talmud was closed to them.

To quote him in Shemonah Kevatzim 1:463:

האנשים הטבעיים שאינם מלומדים, יש להם יתרון בהרבה דברים על המלומדים, בזה שלא נתטשטש אצלם השכל הטבעי והמוסר העצמי על ידי השגיאות העולות מהלימודים, ועל ידי חלישות הכחות וההתקצפות הבאה על ידי העול הלימודי.

The natural people who are not learned have an advantage in many things over the educated, in this that their natural thoughts and basic ethics have not been removed from them through the mistaken notions that arise through learning, and through the weakening of one's abilities, and the rage that one acquires through the burden of learning. (translation my own).

Source: http://seforim.blogspot.com/2010/10/marc-b-shapiro-new-writings-from-r-kook.html.