Authority, Being Educible, and the Obedience Fallacy

ABSTRACT The influence of authority has long been regarded to induce obedience and conformity, and to be the enemy of clear thinking and our becoming good. In contrast, I argue that the influence of authority is foundational to our being educible. We need authoritative influence to enable appropriate development of our beliefs, desires, and capacities to form reasons and so pursue value. In so doing, authority must, at once, help us navigate and transcend a range of widely shared limitations in knowledge, inclination, and governance. One central kind of obstacle I discuss are human anxieties generated by self-consciousness of our limits. Aristotle tells us that since the capacities of individuals for moral understanding and self-governance are limited, we must look beyond the individual to complete the story of how we can pursue a good life. He says we will need laws (even to keep the virtuous on track) and, of course, we will need a broader regulatory and supportive framework, involving also economic, social, and political institutions and actors. An important part of this framework will be to support and shape our inclinations, including our personal attachments. I aim to contribute to this issue on partiality by describing how the influence of authority plays a crucial, necessary role across this framework—a foundational role that enables and maintains good character and shapes the nature of our personal lives and the personal attachments that we might pursue.