It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law. t – tymoff
The quote “It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law” by T. Tymoff suggests that laws are established and enforced through power and authority rather than through moral or philosophical wisdom. This perspective highlights the idea that the legitimacy of laws often comes from those in positions of power rather than their inherent fairness or justice.
This viewpoint can spark discussions about the nature of law, governance, and the role of authority in society. It raises important questions about the relationship between law and ethics, and whether laws should always be followed simply because they exist, regardless of their wisdom or justice.
“It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law” is a statement that challenges the idea that laws should be based on reason, judgment, and justice. It suggests that the power to create laws is more closely linked to political authority and social dominance than to intellectual or moral merit
It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law. t – tymoff
The assertion “it is not wisdom but authority that makes a law” is a provocative statement that challenges the notion that laws should be rooted in sound judgment, reason, and the pursuit of justice.
Lawyers – a category in which judges should also be included – intend everyone to strictly follow “laws” enacted by other people, most of them no more intelligent than average people are: if even that, given that most legislators’ greatest intellectual strengths are concentrated on getting elected by any means possible, whether ethical or not – at least as long as they don’t get found out! It’s not been all that long ago that slavery was completely legal, while homosexuality was severely outlawed.
To many people today they are both patently obvious miscarriages of justice; yet in their time they were both enshrined in codes of law, and both forcibly enforced to boot. What guarantee is there, in fact, that any laws of any nation at any time in history are, or have been, based on genuine morality at all? Just because some – or even many – people think any given law is just is no guarantee that is really is so.
The people who actually actuate or cause to be actuated are the very definition of authority. Authority is always the final maker of the law. That is why we allow our legal system significant leeway in enforcement. We hope that wisdom helps inform authority. And we like the term “final judge.” But wisdom is not the final judge. We also hope that capitalism, family, nature, art, education, etc.,etc. also inform authority. We want authority to know all facets of reality.
So, I guess this statement, in its self, is true but incomplete. Wisdom is usually seen as a good idea, as something we should all agree to and do. But nobody is saying we have to do it.
When the governing body declares a good idea (or a bad one) as law, that puts teeth into it and forces everyone to follow it. It is the authority of the governing body that makes it a law and ensures it is followed. It is the same in a family. When the father-figure says “do it”, that ends the discussion. Mother saying “we should do it this way” is just a suggestion. She is not the government in most households in history.
What’s the relationship between authority and law?
Well, Law to begin with is an authority. Law is the compilation of rules of life. If you play the game of life without knowing the rules of life, the risks are inherent. Not knowing the law is not an excuse. People are expected to know the law.
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Next comes the religious scriptures which are quoted as authority on religious observances. Reference books are authorities. A dictionary is the authority on the meaning of words. On what authority? people usually ask, they are shown the books, the law, the scriptures, the references.
Then there are the authorities created by Law, Delhi Development Authority, Legal services authority etc. The Constitution of a country is the source of all law. The laws are enacted to comply with the constitution. The posts of authority, like the president, speaker, SC judges, PM are authorities created by constitution.
Hence in short, Law is the authority which gives the power to the other authorities. P. S. Please upvote if possible if you find the answer helpful. It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law. t – tymoff
How can we say that what is not knowledge but wisdom?
If you attend school, read books and do you own research just from curiosity, those three things alone it likely to provide you with a greater than average level of knowledge. But it doesn’t mean you’re intelligence is equal to your knowledge.
Knowledge is simply knowing something. With a great deal of total knowledge that is comprised of information on many subjects, it makes you a wonderful candidate to be a contestant on Jeopardy, and you can follow most conversations. Intelligence is equal to the amount of knowledge that you can apply, or make use of in the real world. The rest is basically trivia or fun facts.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a vast storehouse of trivial facts, so I find nothing wrong with it. Since you question is related to semantics in its form, then perhaps a persons total measure of knowledge, if they have a great deal of it, can be called “smart”. But the individual that has vast knowledge and is able to make real use of most of it is considered to be intelligent.
Knowledge that we are taught or any information we take in and keep as knowledge is put into our memory for future recall if and when it may be needed. I made those words bold because I see it as an important concept in addressing your question.
Wisdom is a form of knowledge, but is unique.
Every experience we go through in life, and the negative experiences in particular, offers each of us the opportunity to learn from the experience about life, others and ourselves. We can ignore the lessons if we choose to do so. What happens when we decide to ignore what life is trying to teach us?
The next time a similar negative experience is coming our way, we will fail to recognize it early enough to avoid it, and be as unprepared to deal with it as we were the first time. When we take the time to learn all we can from our experiences, it becomes wisdom and isn’t simple knowledge.
When we gain in actual wisdom, that kind of knowledge doesn’t go to our memory for future recall. Wisdom is the kind of knowledge that is assimilated into our sub-conscious and becomes a part of us. We don’t need to sit down and recall a piece of wisdom we have learned from our own experiences. This is why wisdom can’t be “taught” to us by someone else.
The concepts of wisdom , yes. The simplicity of most wisdom, yes. The words and ideal can be taught as well. But since these words we read from those we consider to be wise, or what someone we believe is wise tells us, it becomes the schoolhouse type of knowledge and is committed to memory.
Real wisdom brings real change to how we see and deal with life. It makes small adjustments to our perspective. It can affect our ethics, morals, principles and character. It brings a deeper understanding to us. Wisdom is much more than simple knowledge. At least as I believe it to be. I may be wrong to you, but until someone can give me something that makes better sense, it’s right for me.
What does “do not put your faith in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” mean?
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” 1Cor 2:4,5
That is, many times people will persuade one another simply with words, ideas. Sometimes the ideas are right and sometimes wrong. But the point Paul is making is that his message and preaching to the Corinthians was not simply in the realm of ideas. He also did miracles to affirm the message is from God.
2Co 12:12 The things that mark an apostle— signs, wonders and miracles— were done among you with great perseverance
Likewise Jesus said concerning his miracles, “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.” John 10:37 To the Athenians Paul said, “He has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” Acts 10:37 and Peter to the Jews, “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” Acts 2:22
And this in contrast to something like Islam that only has mere words, but no miracles. It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law. t – tymoff
“Law is not the source of its own moral authority and legitimacy.” Can anyone explain the statement?
Basically, legal doesn’t mean moral. There may be a lot of overlap, but making something legal doesn’t make it moral, nor does making something illegal make it immoral. The obvious example is slavery. Was it moral to enslave people in 1700? No. Was it legal? Yes.
The implication is that morality comes from something other than law. Indeed, if it didn’t, how would people judge the quality of a (potential) law? Some people say morality comes from their holy book while ignoring more than half the morals in there. So I have a different hypothesis: we evolved to have an innate sense of morality just as we have a vague understanding of quantities even before we learn to count.
Why would we evolve to care about morality? Because it is better for the prosperity of our species to respect each other. If you murder someone in your tribe, that’s one less person to help take down the mammoth. If you lose people’s trust, you can’t rely on each other to work together.
This leads to a realization: everything we value (happiness, productivity, empathy, etc.) can best be achieved by following a code of ethics with simple rules. Don’t hurt people, don’t take their stuff, and don’t misrepresent the truth. If you do, recognize your mistake, apologize to your victim, and do what you can to fix it to their satisfaction.
This is what the creation of law was justified by. The problem is that we gave people a monopoly on law creation and enforcement. Monopolies can sound good when you think of specialization; why do we need three groups making something in different ways, sometimes reinventing the wheel in the process? But competition is what encourages innovation with products and services just as competition is the driving force of evolution.
Monopolies lead to lazy providers at best and abusive tyrants at worst. And the longer a monopoly remains established, the more it moves towards oppressive tyranny. That is why governments often take society with them when they inevitably collapse.
Conclusion
It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law. t – tymoff, It means that Governments have certain authorities, and one of those is the authority to make laws, where such laws do not violate the nation’s constitution. Those laws may not be wise, but the government has the authority to make them.
The phrase “It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law” suggests that the legitimacy of a law does not stem from its moral or rational soundness (wisdom) but rather from the power or authority that enacts it. In other words, a law is considered valid not because it is inherently just or wise, but because it has been established by those in a position of power, such as a government or ruling body.
This idea can provoke discussions about the nature of law, justice, and morality. It raises questions about:
- The Role of Authority: Laws are often created and enforced by institutions that have the power to impose rules, regardless of whether those rules are fair or beneficial.
- Critique of Legal Systems: If laws are based solely on authority, then unjust laws can exist, leading to discussions about civil disobedience and the moral obligation to oppose such laws.
- Philosophical Implications: The statement can be related to various philosophical debates about the nature of justice, the social contract, and the relationship between law and morality.
Overall, this phrase emphasizes the distinction between the legitimacy of laws based on authority versus those based on ethical reasoning or wisdom.
It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law. t – tymoff