There are two ways of understanding why we do not have political obligations. Philosophical anarchism is the view that we, as citizens, do not have political obligations. Luc Foisneau – This is the position, for example, of philosophical anarchists. This is because the state regulates our lives in all kinds of ways.

In the case of the state, by contrast, the claims that the state makes on its citizens are much more general. The doctor, for instance, has authority to order a nurse to do certain things related to the task that they are doing together, which involves healing patients and so on. Indeed, when we think about relationships of authority between professionals ( e.g., the one between a doctor and a nurse, or a teacher and a student), that relationship is very narrow, as it is defined, I would say, by what one may call the limited jurisdiction of the profession at hand.

Luciano Venezia – This is a very interesting and crucial question. So, what does it change when we go from questions related to the authority of the state to questions related to authority in other domains? Luc Foisneau – In the paper we have discussed during the seminar you do not talk so much about the state, since your main example concerns the relationship between a doctor and a nurse. The analytic work on the idea of authority is therefore very important. But to understand the authority of the state, we have to understand the concept of authority as such. And even if they are not two sides of one coin, they are clearly related, and I think that political obligation-the obligation to obey the law-is a topic of clear relevance, and therefore the authority of the state is also a topic of clear relevance. What is our moral relationship, as citizens, to the state? What are, especially, the moral claims that our state makes on us? And so, are there reasons, even duties, to obey the law? The authority of the state and the political obligations of citizens are traditionally viewed as two sides of the same coin. So, one important philosophical problem is the following. When we think about authority, we generally think about the authority of the state. Luciano Venezia – Well, I think that authority is a topic that has enormous relevance.

Why do you think it is important nowadays, as a philosopher, to work on this topic? You are still working on the notion of authority. You did your PhD on Hobbes on questions related to political authority. Luc Foisneau – My first question is a general one.

The Way Things Were by Vincent Hobbes