Overview

The Nature of Authority provides a comprehensive theory of the nature of authoritative guidance. It argues that the following claims exhaust the constitutive properties of authoritative tellings: authoritative tellings (1) tell subjects what to do; (2) give rise to reasons to comply; (3) are issued by personal beings and govern the behavior of personal beings; (4) are issued by rationally competent beings and govern the behavior of rationally competent beings; (5) are issued under a claim of right that counts as plausible in virtue of being grounded in a system to which subjects acquiesce as governing their behavior; (6) are issued by beings with the power to impose their will on subjects with respect to what they do; (7) create obligations to comply; and (8) are backed by a threat of detriment that is reasonably contrived to deter enough noncompliance to enable the system to minimally achieve its ends.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kenneth Einar Himma (University of Zagreb)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 0.60cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.276kg
ISBN:  

9781009507813

ISBN 10:   1009507818
Pages:   76
Publication Date:   09 January 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. Preliminary Considerations: 1. Introduction; 2. The existence conditions of practical authority; 3. Claims (1) through (7) and the sanctions thesis; 4. The Razian theory of practical authority; Part II. The Existence Conditions of Practical Authority; 5. The constitutive properties of authoritative tellings; 6. Other candidates for constitutive properties of authoritative tellings; Part III. Claims (1) through (7) and the Sanctions Thesis: 7. Practical authority as telling people what to do; 8. Practical authority as a source of reasons to comply; 9. Practical authority as a personal relationship; 10. Practical authority as rational; 11. Practical authority as the power of will-imposition; 12. Practical authority as grounded in a claim of right; 13. Practical authority as giving rise to obligations; 14. Must authoritative tellings create exclusionary reasons?; 15. Objections – Of angels and emergency volunteers; Conclusions; Bibliography.

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