| Summary: | More than ever, the thorny issue of authority in the context of education is under discussion today. Although there seems to be wide acceptance of a certain "erosion" (Prairat, 2012) of educational authority, nonetheless the notion of authority is understood in a variety of ways. Authority and authoritarianism are often confused, and this leads on the one hand to the radical rejection of the very idea of educational authority and, on the other hand, to the nostalgic desire to rehabilitate some perverted forms of harsh traditional authority. However, if understood in the sense of auctoritas, authority is neither domination, nor manipulation, nor conditioning, so much so that it seems necessary precisely because: it authorizes educators to educate; its legitimacy is freely acknowledged by the educated subject; it authorizes the educated subject to grow - its aim is not the submission of the other, but his/her emancipation. From a reflexive approach to the philosophy of education, we support the view that an educational ethic of altruism constitutes the precondition to accessing an educational and emancipatory authority, and then its correct actualization in each singular situation. Indeed, this educational ethic aims at the emancipation of the “personne“; unconditionally respects all human beings as a “Personne“ and prohibits all violence and nuisance against him/her; it allows mutual and free acknowledgement; it embraces the personal and symbolic third party; it facilitates the synergic construction of knowledge and the transmission of a cultural heritage of humanity; it provides a way of escaping the pitfalls of mimetic desire; it leads to consider the asymmetrical relationship of education as a temporary and potentially reversible one.
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