How to handle an obsession about being 100% academically honest I’m an undergraduate student, and I find that multiple times (each week), I have an obsessive need to make sure something I’m doing is allowed/accepted.  I do this by asking the TA/Professor for my course in question. 
It’s usually situations where it’s almost certain that something I’m doing is ethical, but I feel the need to ask for each instance if the professor did not explicitly state the rules.
Some examples:


A little while back I asked my professor if thesauruses were allowed, and if I had to cite them.  Based on common sense, I was over 95% sure it was fine – even on the university library website, links were given to a few online thesauruses.  When I asked my prof, he said that it was absolutely fine, and that thesauruses did not have to be cited.
My professor for another course mentioned that certain calculators were not allowed on tests (the kind of calculator I currently have).  I wondered if I could still use my calculator on assignments, and I assumed I probably could since he only mentioned tests.  I asked the TA about it, and he said I could.
I was wondering if I could use my course notes while doing an assignment.  I was always allowed to do this in high school, and I was 99 % certain it would be okay.  I asked the TA about it, and he replied that it’s completely okay.


I want to earn a degree that was done in perfect ethical standing.  I feel that if I don’t ensure every single thing I’m doing is completely ethical, then inevitably a few of my actions will be unethical over the four years.

I don’t want to have to keep pestering my professors about every single detail, as it wears on me and also (I’m sure) will wear on them.  At the same time, I have the problem I discussed above.  Should I just accept that it's pretty much impossible for anyone to finish a degree with a 100% ethical standing?  Any advice/experience would be greatly appreciated.
Should I just accept that it's pretty much impossible for anyone to finish a degree with a 100% ethical standing?


No, I find that to be a rather unreasonable formulation of your predicament as well as a loaded question. What you should correct is not your notion that ethical behavior is achievable, but rather your unreasonable idea of how to achieve it, and your misguided view that there is some ideal level of "100% ethical standing" that is only attainable through extreme efforts of constant vigilance and constantly pestering your professors and TAs with annoying (and unnecessary, as you yourself seem to understand quite well) questions. In general in human affairs, trying to attain 100% of anything is an example of what is known as a category error -- the act of attributing a concept that is applicable to one realm of thought to another realm where it is no longer applicable. "100% ethical standing" is simply a meaningless concept.

I could go on and give a detailed answer touching on all kinds of philosophical issues and giving you a crash course on academic ethics, but a more lightweight approach seems like it will be more useful here. Basically, you just need to chill out. Relax, trust your instincts and common sense and stop worrying about this and you'll be fine, just like the vast majority of students who just want to complete their studies honestly and then go on to make use of the knowledge they acquired.