AG Heinzelmann, 18.07.2025 Authority and Control

In this talk, I develop a deflationary account of practical authority, according to which it is centrally a matter of one person’s controlling another’s actions by mere say-so. I show how this focus on (a distinctive type of) control over another’s actions sheds light on three questions central to any philosophical account of authority: What does authority consist in? (Conceptual question.) What justifies one person’s having authority over another? (Justificatory question.) What makes authority relations distinctly morally problematic, and how can the associated problems be solved? (Moral question.)

Daniel Viehoff is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. His research lies at the intersection of political and legal philosophy, ethics, and social philosophy, with particular focus on political authority and legitimacy, democracy, equality, and the private law theory. Before joining the UC Berkeley, he held a prior positon at the NYU. He received a PhD in Philosophy from Columbia University and a JD from Yale Law School. His work has been published in outlets such as Ethics, Journal of Political Philosophy and Philosophy and Public Affairs.