Reliance on some Authority

Though the reliance on some authority is necessary because of the expansion of knowledge, we need to be aware of some consequences of this dependency. In addition to the tragic events mentioned, we also know from history and our own experience that authorities can and do disagree.

This problem of relying on authority is expressed by the story of the three blind men run into an elephant. One bumps into the center of the elephant and says the elephant is like a wall. Another grabs the tail and says the elephant is like a rope. A third feels a leg and says the elephant is like a tree. It is clear that often authorities disagree because all human beings are limited intellectually and morally.

The more we rely on authority for our beliefs and decisions, the more we deny ourselves our autonomy, our own control over our own lives. Not only is our autonomy weakened but so is our self-development.

By letting others do our thinking for us, we lose the opportunity to develop ourselves intellectually.

Knowledge gives us more autonomy and reduces our dependence on others.

And of course, as we know from history, people have lost much more than their autonomy and opportunities of self-development, they lost their lives [Blind obedience to the likes of Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Jim Jones, etc] .

- ETHICS Theory and Practice by J. Grcic.

Philosophy Department Indiana State University.

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