A Practical Look At the Concept of Scientific Authority

Scientific authority a concept that has changed over the years and in different periods is nowadays a common discourse in Iranian universities and academic societies. Given the recent focus of the scientific community, it is necessary to reach a consensus on a precise definition, theoretical foundations and real strengths and capabilities, organizational and management infrastructure.

The present article describes the levels of scientific authority and some of its philosophical foundations and finally the path forward for achieving the status of scientific authority in Iran.

Scientific hegemony, subject authority, institutional authority, and pioneers authority are the four levels proposed for the concept of scientific authority. Scientific hegemony is widely achieved by being a leader and influential in the path of scientific development of human society. Subject authority refers to a particular ability and capability in a special subject and domain. An institution's authority involves the excellence of some universities and research centers on a particular subject. Finally, the authority of the pioneers comes with the growth and development of top scientists at the international level.

To facilitate the achievement of scientific authority, priorities such as discourse among the educated, the detailed pathology of the past actions, the institutional mapping of the scientific authority in the country, future-oriented approaches, the updating of the concepts of authority using the experience of other countries, identifying appropriate values and strategies in line with upstream documents, setting up a scientific authority roadmap, reinforcing mission orientation, and monitoring of activities are essential.