Hierarchical Authority Delegation
What is hierarchical authority delegation? How should it be defined?
When the authority over a certain topic is delegated to more than one expert, the opinion of different experts can have different weight, i.e. the experts can be arranged in a hierarchy. The question here is how the notion of hierarchical authority delegation is to be defined.1
In the scientonomic context, this question was first formulated by Mirka Loiselle in 2017. The question is currently accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by Scientonomy community. Hierarchical Authority Delegation (Loiselle-2017) is currently accepted by Scientonomy community as the best available definition of the term. It is defined as: "A sub-type of multiple authority delegation where different communities are delegated different degrees of authority over topic x."
Contents
Scientonomic History
Acceptance Record
| Community | Accepted From | Acceptance Indicators | Still Accepted | Accepted Until | Rejection Indicators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientonomy | 19 May 2017 | The publication of Loiselle’s Multiple Authority Delegation in Art Authentication is a good indication of acceptance of the question. | Yes |
All Theories
| Theory | Formulation | Formulated In |
|---|---|---|
| Hierarchical Authority Delegation (Loiselle-2017) | A sub-type of multiple authority delegation where different communities are delegated different degrees of authority over topic x. | 2017 |
| Hierarchical Authority Delegation (Patton-2019) | A sub-type of multiple authority delegation where different epistemic agents are delegated different degrees of authority over question x. | 2019 |
Accepted Theories
| Community | Theory | Accepted From | Accepted Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientonomy | Hierarchical Authority Delegation (Loiselle-2017) | 23 October 2018 |
Suggested Modifications
| Modification | Community | Date Suggested | Summary | Verdict | Verdict Rationale | Date Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sciento-2017-0007 | Scientonomy | 19 May 2017 | Accept the definitions of the following subtypes of authority delegation: singular authority delegation, multiple authority delegation, hierarchical authority delegation, and non-hierarchical authority delegation. | Accepted | While the notions of singular and multiple authority delegation didn't cause much controversy, the notions of hierarchical and non-hierarchical authority delegation gave rise to notable disagreement among scientonomists. As a result, the modification was in discussion for about a year and a half.c1 Eventually, a consensus emerged mostly as a result of offline (in-person) discussion meetings. It was agreed that "for decisions that are not rote and routine, it seems highly unlikely that a pre-established hierarchy of authority delegation does or could exist, nor could a pre-established belief that all authorities should be given equal weight".c2 However, it was also agreed that Loiselle's study "have identified at least one aspect of hierarchical authority delegation in epistemic communities",c3 for "there seem to be instances where some experts occupy privileged positions in the eyes of those delegating authority" and that "alone is sufficient to suggest that hierarchies of authority delegation exists, regardless of of how transient or fixed they might be".c4 | 23 October 2018 |
| Sciento-2019-0017 | Scientonomy | 26 December 2019 | Accept the definitions of authority delegation, and its subtypes, that generalize the currently accepted definitions to apply to all epistemic agents, rather than only communities. | Open |
Current Definition
In Scientonomy, the accepted definition of the term is Hierarchical Authority Delegation (Loiselle-2017).
Hierarchical Authority Delegation (Loiselle-2017) states: "A sub-type of multiple authority delegation where different communities are delegated different degrees of authority over topic x."
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Hierarchical authority delegation is a sub-type of multiple authority delegation. It describes a situation in which a community delegates authority over some question to multiple communities, but at different degrees of authority. Consider a case of multiple authority delegation in which either expert A OR expert B might be consulted. If the word of expert A is always accepted over the word of expert B, we have a case of hierarchical authority delegation.
Here is an example from the art world. The Modigliani catalogue raisonée by Ambrogio Ceroni is widely regarded by the art market as being the most reliable source when it comes to matters of Modigliani attribution. That being said, it is also widely accepted that the catalogue is incomplete. In 1997, Modigliani scholar Marc Restellini began creating a new catalogue raisonée for the artist. Between 1997 and 2015 (when Restellini's project was abandoned), the art market held a relationship of hierarchical authority delegation with Ceroni and Restellini. If the painting was listed in the Ceroni catalogue, it was considered authentic, regardless of Restellini's opinion. If it was not in the Ceroni catalogue but was considered authentic by Restellini, then it was accepted as such by the art market. The fact that both Ceroni and Restellini were valued as independent authorities makes this an instance of multiple authority delegation; the fact that Ceroni's word was valued over Restellini makes it a case of hierarchical authority delegation.
Ontology
Existence
There is currently no accepted view concerning the existence of hierarchical authority delegations.
Disjointness
No classes are currently accepted as being disjoint with this class.
Subtypes
No classes are currently accepted as subtypes of a hierarchical authority delegation.
Supertypes
In Scientonomy, there are currently no accepted supertypes of Hierarchical Authority Delegation.
Associations
No associations of a hierarchical authority delegation are currently accepted.
If a question concerning the ontology of a hierarchical authority delegation is missing, please add it here.
Dynamics
If a question concerning the dynamics of a hierarchical authority delegation is missing, please add it here.
Related Topics
This term is also related to the following topic(s):
References
- ^ Loiselle, Mirka. (2017) Multiple Authority Delegation in Art Authentication. Scientonomy 1, 41-53. Retrieved from https://www.scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/28233.
