How do you define authority?

Can it be defined by power, knowledge, wealth, the supernatural or something else? Does one give it to themselves...or is it given to them by another?


Discuss

- Whirly

 

Not at all, at 39 that seems unlikely. Assumptions are always foolish Wilhelm, they make an Ass out of u and me. It's a cliche but also a truth.

- Whirly

 

I'm glad your mum continues to educate herself as her lifes journey continues. It shows intelligence, that's not an assumption, it's an observation based on disclosed information. Actually I lecture. So usually I set homework, although I detest marking it. Back to the thread anyway.

- Whirly

 

For me power defines authority in some ways, and Nietzsche would agree with that. If you have more power, then you can force others to do what you want, if they don´t do, they are arrested, or punished somehow. If you had more power than the state, would you need to follow its laws ? Or you would make your own laws ? History show us that authority depends on power, King Henry VIII did not follow the Pope because it was the right thing to do in his opinion, he wanted a divorce lol, or it was the will of God... it was because the Pope had more power than the king. Do you think criminals will still be criminals if they had too much power ? No, they will be the law, and you will be the criminal - Mr Bush springs to mind, waiting for the flames to come lol. Christians were like criminals in Rome before they acquired power. Not that christians are criminals, but criminal is a relative concept. This is only part of the story though. Authority can be conferred to trusted others.

People are so much the hypocrites when they state their opinions about right, and wrong... they believe something is right with no doubt, but that same thing is only justified because not agreeing with that would mean punishment for you... it is the law of the jungle, for example, people are quick to condem piracy, but relatively to many other legally accepted injustices of capitalism, it is a minor problem. People like to associate right, and wrong to the laws of the society, and if you ask them many will deny, but when something happen, everyone quickly judges you for your actions, but when someone kills in mass(for example), and have the "authority" to do that he will never be judged since it is legal. I personally thought of Iraq, when I said kills in mass... if I was powerful enough to start a personnal attack on Iraq killing everyone on Iraq including inocents, which is a consequence of any war. I would probably be arrested, and considered a terrorist, or criminal. But if I am the president, and officially declare war, nope... I will not be arrested for killing people.

Thats is authority... you want to do something, and you do it... if you don´t have authority you suffer the consequences of your actions, if you have authority you don´t suffer the consequences, and if you have authority you have the power to justify our own actions using some random justification, just pick one : God´s will, divine right, laws, majority of opinion, etc. I´m not saying that those justifications are wrong, but they are not more right than my own opinions.

IMPORTANT : Its is like God, metaphysics... those things that "do not have pratical application", if you have authority, you can force people to follow a random metaphysical concept of your choice, or else they are punished. Believe me... you will not feel so free to talk about God being irreal, or about bible´s contradictions in the time where it was against law, it would be like commiting a crime.

Trust is the key:

We must give authority to those we'd trust. If that trust is violated then we must elect others to take their place. Impartiality does help too.

I knew Cartman would enter this.

- Whirly

 

To a point I agree with you. However, I think you are making a bit of an assumption about how power is defined.

I don't believe that power equates to the amount of control one has over others. Rather..I think the concept of "power" is more accurately defined by the control one has over themselves.

If something exists that can control an individual on a physical, emotional, or spiritual level..then the authority that they have is indeed very limited, and is only relative to those who choose to subject themselves to it. Something I missed from my first post.

To me, authority is the idea of having the "power" to change ways of living and such by altering what is and isn't "Ok" or "legal" etc.

Impartiality is key. You must be able to stop what's wrong or harmful, change what's impractical or non-functional, create a working machine for lack of a better term. Or if not create, maintain fairly without exception in the idea of what it's creator wants. Where as some people get carried away with power.


If you're not interested why respond Wilhelm?

- Whirly

 

Fair enough. I wasn't asking for what the dictionary thought. Secondary sources are usually perfect the writer has had more time to think about it. Problem is they kill a thread of this type by removing the personal aspect.
I was more interested in what you and others though than what the dictionary said.
Opinions vary as to what is thread worthy on a forum. Truth you came to attack what you percieved as a kid.

You didn't like my response. It's no problem though.



- Whirly

 

No need to become aggressive, thats really not needed. Also no need to call anyone an idiot. I'm not going to bother responding to a post that is purely meant to incite. I don't know you, and you don't know me. I have behaved appropriately, you had also behaved pretty much appropriately to this point apart from your initial assumption. As for being wrong you agreed with my definition. Which was......... mine.

- Whirly