PHIL 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Moral Authority

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHIL 1010
• Professor: John Hacker- Wright

Document Summary

Parent and state authority are most alike because they carry moral weight. Power is the ability to compel someone to do something. Authority is power plus a moral right to exercise it. Some of those limits may be legal- charters and constitutions allow people to have legal recourse and challenge laws. We must acknowledge the limits as moral: just because it"s legal, doesn"t mean it"s moral. It can be wrong to do something that"s legal. A legitimate state has authority if it meets the goals, but is illegitimate if it does not and is not a state. Plato and aristotle would say it"s a matter of wisdom, that the state is ruling for a common good. Or there is no limit to the power a state has. The people give legitimacy to their state, consent that they may be in power. Consenting by accepting and receiving the benefits of the state.