Authority

The credibility lies in the recognition by the subject (carrier) of outstanding achievements, knowledge, abilities, skills, abilities, his special position in society , their significance for humanity, for one or another object, the sphere of social life, science , and based on this non-violent influence media on a particular object, which determines a certain historically changing form of subordination of people's actions and thoughts to the positions and norms arising from the settings of the subject ^[2] .

The Romans called the authority auctoritas recognized for their cities. It also speaks of faith in authority ( lat. Argumentum ad verecundiam - “appeal to authority”), which is based on trust in the opinion or knowledge of another person.

Unlike coercion based on real or symbolic violence, the influence of authority is based on voluntary submission. A prerequisite is the legitimacy of the source of authority. In accordance with the concept of M. Weber , authority can be sanctified by three sources:

1. Tradition (for example, authority of authority);
2. Rational legitimacy;
3. Affective legitimacy based on the charisma of a leader.

An unusual discovery was made by scientists from the University of Leeds . They conducted a series of experiments: volunteers were asked to roam the large hall without talking to each other. Among the participants, several people were chosen who were given clearer instructions on which route to follow. A published report showed that “an informed minority” of only 5% can set a direction for a group of people of at least 200 people. The remaining “herd” unconsciously follows the leaders. There are clear parallels with the behavior of animal groups , the researchers say. During the experiments, the subjects worked out a common solution, although they were not allowed to either talk to each other or communicate using gestures. In most cases, the participants in the experiment did not even realize that someone was leading them.
The current work echoes the study of scientists from Utrecht University . They proved that most people prefer to follow the leader, even if the guide "does not know where to go."

In the post-Soviet space, the word “authority” has gained additional meaning from criminal jargon : “criminal authorities” or simply “authorities” are called criminal businessmen who conduct illegal business and are leaders of the criminal world, in prisons - representatives of the highest group in the informal hierarchy of prisoners . In this sense, an authoritative adjective is included in the neutral, at first glance, phrase “authoritative businessman” (“authoritative entrepreneur”). It is used by the press as a euphemism , when the author transparently hints at the involvement of a given person in criminal activity, avoiding such use of possible claims and accusations of unprovenness. For the first time this phrase was noted in an article by Victor Smirnov “An authoritative entrepreneur did not live up to the trial” (Kommersant-Daily newspaper, October 27, 1994).

• Milgram experiment
• An authoritative source (AI) on Wikipedia is a model for verifying the accuracy of information in Wikipedia articles.

• Author // Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language : in 4 volumes / auth. V.I. Dahl . - 2nd ed. - SPb. : Printing house of M.O. Wolf , 1880-1882.
• Authority // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Authority // Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. 1907-1909.
• Authority // Big Soviet Encyclopedia : in 66 volumes (65 volumes and 1 additional) / Ch. ed. O. Yu. Schmidt . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1926-1947.
• Rabbinical authority // Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron . - SPb. , 1908-1913.

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