Intellectual Authority and Education

A prominent tradition in the philosophy of education identifies the principal aim of teaching as the transmission of knowledge. However, teachers are also educators, and a key aim of education is the cultivation of good intellectual character. This chapter explores the kind of intellectual authority teachers must possess to effectively pursue this aim and foster the corresponding intellectual virtues in learners. It is argued that preemptionist theories of intellectual authority fail to account for the relevant desiderata. Instead, I propose a joint-inquiry model of intellectual authority and argue that teachers should possess and practice what I call ‘Socratic authority’.