Page - 134 - in Reflective Cosmopolitanism - Educating towards inclusive communities through Philosophical Enquiry

134 REfLECTIvE COsMOPOLITANIsM This final interpretation of the concept of authority can be associated with the concept of authoritativeness. That is, we rationally confer authority to a person who is recognized as superior for judgment and knowledge, so his or her judgment is recognized as worthy of special attention. This type of authority does not need to manifest itself in a despotic way, as it is the free choice of an individual’s rationality that recognizes the limitations of his or her own reason and knowledge. The idea that authority is based on consent has determined, in the history of Western thought, a radical criticism towards the concept of authority itself. In the lives of adolescents there are some figures they consider to be authorities, such as their parents and teachers. These figures can also be recognized as authoritative in so far as they do not impose their authority in a despotic way, but rather are capable of behaving like guides for young people given their greater life experience. Accordingly, they can advise, not impose, a given course of action to young people. In the first episode of the story, the char- acters find themselves reflecting on how much trust they can have in authority. Jensika has been a victim of unpleasant behavior by a teacher, who, in the context of a school system, embodies both a role of authority and authoritativeness: a teacher is, in the minds of children, an educator who guides them in a particular moment of their life, but also someone who has the power to suspend or fail them, if s/he believes their behavior or performance is not ap- propriate (for instance, goes against scholastic rules, like ‘no cheating’, or subverts learning). As a result, following the episode that occurred with the teacher in question, some students remain convinced that the person who can defend Jensika is someone more au- thoritative than the teacher, that is, the principal. Some declare that they don’t trust authority at all, either by principle or, as is the case with Jensika and her friends, because they fear the power that authority represents. The girls fear that their words would be useless against those of the teacher since, in the hierarchy of their school, they are in a very low position and are not bright students. What can Jensika do? What do your students think about this? Discussion Plan: What kind of authority? 1) Does being a mother bring with it any authority? If so, what kind? 2) Does a teacher have any authority? If so, what kind? 3) Does an old person have any authority? If so, what kind? 4) Does my older sister have any authority? If so, what kind? 5) Does my little brother have any authority? If so, what kind? 6) Does my best friend have any authority? If so, what kind? 7) Does my Senegalese friend’s father have any authority? If so, what kind? 8) Does the man who sells “hot dogs” have any authority? If so, what kind?? 9) Does the cashier at the supermarket have any authority? If so, what kind? 10) Does the superintendent of an apartment building have any authority? If so, what kind? 11) Does a scientist have any authority? If so, what kind? 12) Does a judge have any authority? If so, what kind? 13) Does the pope have any authority? If so, what kind? 14) Does the Imam have any authority? If so, what kind? 15) Does the Dalai Lama have any authority? If so, what kind? 16) Do I have any authority? If so, what kind? 17) Does the state have any authority? If so, what kind? 18) Does the law have any authority? If so, what kind? 19) Does religion have any authority? If so, what kind?