Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Abstract
In any rational authority system, authority must be closely connected to point, purpose and function. The situation of authority in colleges and universities provides a special case of such point, purpose and function. The present paper tries to show the quite special features of the epistemic (knowledge) authority of academics that provide rational justification for their being in many positions of social authority in their institutions. To do this, (1) the particular aspects of the point, purpose and function of such epistemic authorities will be demonstrated, (2) the logical necessity of academic disciplines for rational endeavour will be pointed out, and (3) the mistakes involved in the common notion of educational democracy will be exposed.
Recommended Citation
Chambers, J. H. (1979). Epistemic Authority, Rationality and the Fallacy of Educational Democracy. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.1979v4n2.4