Characteristics of Moral Authority

An individual or a group of people who are seen as communicators of such principles but who do not have the physical power to enforce them against those who do not wish to do so are said to have or to be a moral authority. An example is the Catholic Church.

In this sense, moral authority has been defined as “the ability to convince others of how the world should be”, as opposed to epistemic authority, “the ability to convince others of how the world is”.

Changing approaches

Since the Age of Enlightenment, traditional sources of moral authority, such as the church or state, have been viewed with increasing suspicion in Western culture: perhaps all claims to moral authority. Instead of guides, entertainers; instead of ideals, stimulation.

Expertise, or alternatively what Emmanuel Levinas called the tyranny of opinion, or an appeal to science, can be sought as alternative sources of moral authority; or there may be a postmodern rejection of all grand narratives that could ground such narratives in favor of moral relativism.

Where a figure still wields some degree of moral authority, this can be largely attributed to his modernist reticence, lack of dogma, and capacity for self-confidence , as opposed, for example, to the centuries-long unchallenged moral authority attributed to Virgil. as a  norm vivendi  .

In reaction to the erosion of sources of moral authority, Late Modernity has also seen the rise of various forms of fundamentalism, from a range of religious types to market fundamentalism.

Ways to recognize someone with moral authority

Those who commit to their ideals regardless of the opinions they receive, can be considered as people who have the authority to speak on the subject, since they have firm principles and do not intend to change their beliefs for mere opinions.

An important point of this type of individuals is that they seek not to judge others, they allow everyone to express themselves freely, respecting their peers, but they keep their principles firm, since they are positive people and consistent with what they say and do.

Some features that they usually have are:

• They are people who lead by example.
• They tend to have a great sense of truth and are faithful to their principles.
• They don’t try to make others like them.
• They respect different opinions without trying to impose their beliefs.
• He has a great value system.
• They represent what moral leadership is .

Examples

There are different figures that over time have established themselves as moral authorities, thanks to their clear values ​​and determination about their beliefs. For this reason, knowing what moral authority is allows it to be clear who these people are.

A clear representative of what this is is Mahatma Ghandi who had very clear ideas of how one should live and preached a philosophy of peace, which although not many shared, they respected due to the example he set in this regard.

Many of the messages that Ghandi promoted remain to this day, as he not only touched on points such as the correct way to treat others, but also different ways of presenting politics in such a way that everyone could benefit from it.

As a result of this type of philosophy, different opinions and movements were born over time, as well as opinions of different figures such as Jorge Armando  , a renowned lawyer and politician, who declared in an interview:

“I have no moral authority to judge anyone; In my life I have done many crazy things for love and who knows if I will do more before I die. Love is a bolt of lightning that strikes us suddenly and changes us.”

Based on all these aspects, it is easy to imagine why it is important for a leader to have what the moral authority is , because it makes them earn the respect of the rest of the people.