Abstract

CRUZ SOTO, Luis Antonio. The concept of authority in the thinking of Aristotle and its relationship with the concept of authority in the administrative behavior. Contad. Adm [online]. 2010, n.231, pp.53-78. ISSN 0186-1042.

This paper analyzes the concept of authority in the thinking of Aristotle and its relationship with the concept of authority in the administrative behavior. Thus, we develop our arguments in two main parts: in the first one we analyze the concept of authority from the Aristotle's view in order to define the elements of study that allow us to link such elements with the concept of authority in the administrative behavior; in the second part, we build the meaning of the authority in the administrative behavior to determine its conceptual relationship with the concept of authority in the Aristotelian thought. We hold that the concept of authority is defined by the legitimacy both in the view of Aristotle as in the view of the administrative behavior. Therefore, we assume that the legitimacy of the domination: a) seeks the rational recognition by the actors that are facing the content of the mandates and, b) at the same time, it generates processes of functional validity through the relevant provisions arising from those mandates. We conclude that the authority, be it in the Aristotelian sense or in the sense of the administrative behavior, is guided by the legitimacy which in turn is based on recognition -informed, rational and voluntary- from the perspective of the individuals who are dominated.

Keywords : authority; legitimacy; domination; function.